Iberdrola completes 350 MW hydroelectric project in Brazil

The Iberdrola group, through its subsidiary Neoenergia, has inaugurated the Baixo Iguaçu hydroelectric power station located on Iguaçu river in the state of Paraná, Brazil. The new facility, which was commissioned on December 2018, has an installed capacity of over 350 MW and supplies renewable energy to one million people. Its production will be equivalent to about 8% of the annual electricity demand of the state of Paraná.

Located between the towns of Capanema and Capitão Leônidas Marques, the complex features a 516 meters long dam and a 60 kilometers transmission line. The dam has a flooded area of 13.5 km2 and encompasses the municipal districts of Planalto, Realeza and Nova Prata do Iguaçu. The power station has three generator sets and average power of 171.3 MW. 

The new renewable facility, which comes from an award from the National Electric Energy Agency of Brazil (Aneel), has been built and managed by the Consórcio Empreendedor Baixo Iguaçu, consisting of Geração Céu Azul, belonging to the Neoenergia group, a Brazilian subsidiary of Iberdrola, and Copel. The power station features three Kaplan turbine-generating units. Alstom had supplied the electromechanical and erection equipment for the project.

This flagship project of the Iberdrola group has an important driving effect for the economy of the region: it has had an investment of BRL 2.300 billion (about US$ 574.7 million) and has generated a total of 3,000 jobs during its construction.

During the opening ceremony of the power plant, held on 23 May of 2019, the president of the Iberdrola group, Ignacio Galán, announced that the company's commitment in the country will continue to increase: "Only in the next five years will we invest around EUR 6.5 billion (US$ 7.3 million) in new projects in Brazil to continue improving its electricity supply, and in this way, its competitiveness".

In addition, Galán highlighted the social and environmental involvement of the Baixo Iguaçu project: "This installation is a benefit for the Iguaçu Waterfalls, since it will contribute to the maintenance of a minimum necessary flow. And to this must be added many other initiatives that have been promoted in health, education, infrastructure and public safety to preserve and promote the well-being of the region".