An event held today in the municipality of Ribeira do Piauí celebrated the inauguration of Nova Olinda Park, the largest solar plant currently in operation in South America. The ceremony marked the park becoming fully operational and was attended by the Governor of the state of Piauí, Wellington Dias; Enel’ Country Manager in Brazil, Carlo Zorzoli and Head of Enel Green Power, Antonio Cammisecra:
“Nova Olinda solar park is an important milestone in the story of Enel Green Power in Brazil. Our expertise made possible the construction of this huge project in just 15 months, so we are particularly proud of this project”
Enel’ Country Manager in Brazil, Carlo Zorzoli and Head of Enel Green Power, Antonio Cammisecra
Enel has invested approximately 300 million US dollars in the construction of Nova Olinda. The facility, which is comprised of almost 930,000 solar panels in an area of 690 hectares, has 292 MW of installed capacity and is able to produce more than 600 GWh per year, enough energy to supply the consumption needs of around 300,000 homes. In addition, annually, the clean energy produced will avoid the emission of approximately 350,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.
“Nova Olinda is a demonstration of how Enel is contributing to the diversification of the energy mix in Brazil by betting on the renewable sources that are so abundant in the country”
Shared value with the local community
EGPB has carried out initiatives in the areas surrounding the plant, in line with the Creating Shared Value (CSV) model adopted by Enel Group. Main projects: local workforce training in electro-mechanics to assemble the plant’s equipment and creative recycling workshops to create furniture using materials used in the construction works.
“To bring the Nova Olinda Park to life, 1,700 employees were hired. More than half were local residents”
Enel: leader of the solar energy market
In Brazil, Enel Group, through its EGPB and Enel Brasil subsidiaries, has a total installed renewable capacity of around 2,276 MW, of which 670 MW from wind power, 716 MW from solar PV and 890 MW from hydro power, as well as to close to 275 MW of capacity currently in construction, of which 172 MW from wind and 103 from solar power. In addition, Enel Group will integrate the recently-awarded 380 MW Volta Grande hydro plant.