Spain’s Iberdrola Has Brazil For Its First Floating Solar Project

The first floating solar power facility of global energy conglomerate Iberdrola will be coming up in Brazil soon. Iberdrola group has announced its plans to install the its first floating photovoltaic plant in the world in Brazil, through its subsidiary Neoenergia.

The official statement held that the floating solar project will be built on the water surface of the Xaréu dam on the island of Fernando de Noronha. The project site is recognised by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage Site and Iberdrola is developing various sustainable energy solutions at this site.

Iberdrola said that the solar power initiative is carried out together with Companhia Pernambucana de Saneamento (Compesa), which operates the water and sewage distribution network throughout the island, and with the support of the Energy Efficiency Programme regulated by the Brazilian National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel).

Iberdrola mentioned that with an output of 630 kW, the floating solar plant will generate around 1,240 MWh of green energy per year, enough to cover, with zero-kilometre electricity supply, more than 50% of Compesa’s energy consumption on the island. The solar project will have around 940 panels that will prevent the emission into the atmosphere of more than 1,660 tonnes of CO2 per year. The construction of this project, which is expected to begin before the end of the year, will involve an investment of EUR 2 million.

Iberdrola said that the development of its first floating solar power plant will allow the group to test this new technology and analyse its possible expansion.

This floating solar power project joins other sustainable projects developed by Iberdrola to provide renewable solutions and promote the preservation of the ecosystem of the island. Iberdrola recently inaugurated Vacaria solar plant which is the first of two solar farms, each with a capacity of 50 kW, designed to supply electric vehicles exclusively.