Brazil: Spain’s Iberdrola commissions “Chafariz”, its largest wind farm complex in the world

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Spain’s Iberdrola has commissioned the energy company’s largest wind farm complex in Brazil, with a total installed capacity of 471 megawatts (MW), reinforcing its commitment to renewable energy in the second-largest economy in the Americas.

This “mega-complex” in the northern state of Paraíba consists of 15 wind farms. The first of these was commissioned last July, 17, months ahead of schedule, and the entire project is now operational.

Chafariz has 136 active wind turbines, one of the most modern and efficient models with 65-meter blades, capable of supplying one million people per year.

The complex has already sold 61% of the energy it generates in the regulated market, while the remaining 39% will be sold in the Brazilian deregulated market (Ambiente de Contratación Libre).

DOUBLING OF WIND POWER PORTFOLIO BY 2022

With the launch of “Chafariz”, the Bilbao-based Group, chaired by Ignacio Sánchez Galán, has almost doubled the wind power portfolio of Neoenergia, its subsidiary in Brazil, which the company says plans to triple its portfolio of wind power plants in Brazil to 1,600 MW by the end of this year and reach 90% of its installed capacity in renewable energy.

Iberdrola is also moving forward with constructing another wind power “mega-complex” in the country, “Oitis,” which will include 12 wind farms between the states of Piauí and Bahia.

With an installed capacity of 567 MW – enough to power a city of 2.7 million inhabitants – Oitis will be Iberdrola’s largest onshore wind project in Latin America and the second-largest in the world. Work is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.

MORE THAN R$3.1 BILLION INVESTED IN RENEWABLE ENERGY IN BRAZIL IN 2021

The energy company’s growth in renewable energy in Brazil has been driven by its investment efforts, having allocated 3.1 billion Brazilian reals (about US$660 million) to green energy in the South American country last year, a 246% increase from the previous year.

Wind power projects accounted for 2.8 billion reais of that total. The new turbines boosted Neoenergia’s wind power generation to 2,313 gigawatt-hours (GWh) last year, increasing 23.16%.

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