86 Do Rio GRanDe a BaRRaGem De FuRnasjcomp / Freepik
Sun as a sourceThe global investment in renewable energy reached U$288.9billion in 2018, outpacing the financial support for fossil fuelpower generation, according to the UN Environment Reportpublished in 2019. “The global trends continue to indicate that investingin renewable energy is to invest in a lucrative future. The investments inrenewable energy in 2018 were three times greater than the amount investedin new capacity to generate energy from coal and gas’’, said IngerAndersen, executive director of the UN Environment. She also emphasized"While this result is encouraging, we need to significantly step upthe pace if we are to meet the international climate and developmentgoals."Facing this reality, Furnas develops a project to enter the segment ofsolar energy. It began in 2018 and studies indicate that it is expected toenter in commercial operation in 2021. In order to increase the sustainabilityof its energy matrix, the plan is to implement a photovoltaic parkwith 200 hectares in the area of the Luiz Carlos Barreto de Carvalho HydroelectricPower Plant (MG/SP), in the municipality of Pedregulho, in SãoPaulo."Currently, this solar power plant is in the stage of environmentallicensing and contracting of the basic project," says Furnas' GenerationStudies and Projects manager, Isaac Benchimol. With an estimated totalpower of 130 MW, the complex will be divided into three power plants: EstreitoI, Estreito II and Estreito III. The estimated energy production is265,000 MWh/year, equivalent to the consumption of about 130 thousandresidences. A solar power plant (or solar park) is a large photovoltaic(PV) system designed for the production and sale of electricity.Luiz Carlos Barreto de Carvalho Hydroelectric Power Plant was chosento implement the project due to the fact that the unit is in a region favorablefor the use of the photovoltaic source. "The installation of thephotovoltaic panels at the site reduces the costs through harnessing theavailable areas and sharing the existing transmission and substationsystem. Therefore, there is no need to build extensive lines. The local infrastructureis used, such as access, drainage and buildings" explains RodrigoCalixto, Furnas' Generation Studies and Projects superintendent.The photovoltaic energy combines low environmental impact, low maintenancecost (the panels have a lifespan that can reach 30 years) and attenuatesthe energy production dependence of hydroelectric powerplants. The production of the solar power plant comes from the photovoltaicsolar panels that convert the energy of the sun into electric energyto be sold to the grid.The solar energy is in continuous growth in the world, China, theUnited States, Spain, Germany, Japan and Italy are the strongest investors.The world's largest solar park in the world was opened in the USstate of California in June 2015, near the community of Rosamond, it isa 579 MWp project. In this case, they are two parks together, which use1,700,000 photovoltaic solar panels, occupying an area of approximately13 km² in the desert. The solar power plants differ from photovoltaic systemsinstalled in homes and industries (which are for their own consumption)because they supply high voltage power for distribution purposes.The most of solar power plants in the world are built on the ground andcan have fixed or movable plates (which accompany the movement ofthe sun). On the other hand, there are many solar power plants built onthe roof of large buildings. In Belo Horizonte (MG), is located is the largestsolar power plant built on top of a soccer stadium in Brazil, Mineirão,with more than 6,000 solar panels, where only 10% of the energy generatedis consumed in the stadium and the rest is distributed to other areasof the city.In another project, Furnas foresees the installation of three photovoltaicpower plants with a nominal power of 1 MW (megawatt) each,totaling 3 MW, in an area close to the Anta Hydroelectric Power Plant,located on the Paraíba do Sul River, border between the states of Rio deJaneiro and Minas Gerais. With the project, classified as Remote Self-Consumption of Generated Distributed, Furnas estimates to reduce byabout 40% the annual energy expenses of the company's Central Officein Rio de Janeiro. The schedule foresees the implementation in ninemonths and commercial generation in the first quarter of 2020. The forecastis that the investment of just over R$ 11 million will be paid in aboutfive years.The Kyo-Green consortium, formed by Kyoservice and Solergy, will bethe responsible for the execution from the basic design phase to the completionof the work and the beginning of the commercial operation. Thebidding obtained a negative goodwill of about 20% in relation to the initialbudgeted amount. According to the superintendent of Furnas GenerationProjects, Rodrigo Calixto, the objective is to expand the solarpower generation project to be used by other areas of the company. “Wealready have a project for a second power plant in the interior of Rio deJaneiro. Thereafter, the idea is to expand photovoltaic generation toMinas Gerais, São Paulo and other areas where we operate. We want toreduce to zero the electricity bill at the Furnas units ”. The executive addsthat investing in photovoltaic power plants for self-consumption is a stepfor the company to gain experience in exploring this source.Do Rio GRanDe a BaRRaGem De FuRnas 87