Largest wind farm in Latin America opens in Bahia
The Alto do Sertão I Complex has 14 parks and 184 wind turbines
Wind energy (generated from wind) is one of the fastest growing clean energy sources in Brazil. In July, the company Renova Energia, the first company specialized in renewable energy to be listed on the BM&BOVESPA, inaugurated the Alto Sertão I Wind Complex, the largest in Latin America.
With an investment of R$1.2 billion, the complex has 14 wind farms and 184 wind turbines, each with the capacity to generate 1.6MW, which will produce a total of 294MW of energy, representing a growth of 29.4% in the the country's wind power sector.
Located in the region of the cities of Caetité, Igaporã and Guanambi, in the state of Bahia, the northeast region concentrates 30% of the production capacity of this type of energy in Brazil. Renova also intends to invest more in the state and build around 15 wind farms in the region, whose works should start in September this year.
With the capacity of the Alto do Sertão I Complex, it is possible to generate energy for a city with 2.16 million inhabitants.
Renova Energia is also investing in other programs, such as the Catavento Project, which brings together 20 social initiatives for sustainable development and environmental and social responsibility in the region, in addition to benefits such as jobs and land leases for residents of regions close to the parks.
Alto Sertão in numbers
-R$ 1.2 billion is the investment
-294 megawatts is the installed capacity, equivalent to the consumption of 540,000 homes
-1.3 thousand jobs (Renova and outsourced) generated during construction
-300 families are benefiting from land leases
-17 months was the build time
-184 is the number of wind turbines in the Complex
-126 meters is the height of each tower plus the length of the spade, equivalent to a 32-story building
-68 KM of access roads were paved
-15 is the total of parks that will be built in the next 2 years
-6 will be opened in 2013, with a capacity of 163Mw
-9 parks will be opened in 2014, with a capacity of 212Mw
Wind Energy in Brazil
• 0.8% is the share of wind energy in the Brazilian matrix
• 7% is expected to participate in 2020
• 30% of the potential for wind energy production in Brazil is in the Northeast
• 15% of this production potential is in Bahia
• 59 wind farms are currently in operation.
• 141 new ventures were contracted in the last two years by the federal government
• 2012 and 2013 is the forecast for the delivery of these projects
• R$16 billion are being invested in these projects
