Wind in the Rio Grande

The Latin American arm of Enel is working with SoWiTec do Brasil Energias Alternativas, an affiliate of the German developer SoWiTec, to develop wind power farms in Brazil.

The farms, which once built will have a combined capacity of up to 1,000MW, are to be located in the north-eastern part of Brazil, specifically in the states of Cearà, Bahia, Rio Grande do Norte and Sergipe. Each farm will provide between 56MW to 200MW of power.

As part of the agreement between the two companies, Enel will be entitled to acquire all the wind farms once they are completely developed by SoWiTec.

The total power generated from wind farms in Brasil is presently around 247MW, with an additional 149MW of output under construction. According to the wind atlas of Brazil, the potential power that could be generated from wind there is estimated at 143,000MW.

Enel has been operating in the country since 2006. It currently operates 20 hydroelectric plants with a combined power output of 92MW. It currently generates 1,002MW from its wind farms across the world, and plans to increase this figure to approximately 5,000MW by 2012.