- The line runs through four states between the north and northeast: Maranhão, Piauí, Tocantins and Bahia
- This line will allow the exchange between the Brazilian regions and facilitate the flow of energy from the Belo Monte (AP) hydroelectric power plant, the largest power plant in Brazil with an installed capacity of 11 GW
Iberdrola has commissioned its largest power line in the world with almost 730 kilometres. The company, through its subsidiary Neoenergía External link, opens in new window., has put into operation the Jalapão transmission line between the north and northeast of Brazil, running through four states in the country: Tocantins, Maranhão, Piauí and Bahía.
The function of this line is to extend the transmission grid to improve energy exchange between the North and Northeast regions, facilitating the flow of energy generated at the Belo Monte (AP) hydroelectric power plant, an asset in which Neoenergia has a stake and, with an installed capacity of 11,233.1 MW, is the largest power plant in Brazil.
The Jalapão project has used 13,100 kilometres of conductor cables, equivalent to the distance between São Paulo and Moscow. Thanks to its construction, Neoenergía has employed more than 2,000 people at the peak of the works.
It has also led to a number of economic and socio-environmental benefits for the local population. Among other actions, Neoenergia promoted environmental solutions starting with stalled works around the Transmission Line, of structures abandoned in situ for more than five years, prior to the acquisition of the project. The initiative enabled the environmental recovery of the section, allowing the area to return to its previous natural conditions.
Approximately 4,000 concrete foundations from the old transmission line have been recycled and crushed into small pieces, enough to cement approximately 24,000 square metres of roads. This material was used to improve roads in the municipalities involved in the project. In addition, some of the other materials, such as steel, were sold and the proceeds were used to buy more than 900 food baskets for people in vulnerable situations.
The project was procured in Lot 4 of Auction 02/2017, conducted by the National Electricity Agency (ANEEL) in December 2017 and has been commissioned 15 months ahead of the regulatory body’s contractual forecast.
Networks, the key system for the transition, to which it will devote half of its investments
Iberdrola has been leading the energy transition for two decades, acting as a driving force in the transformation of the industrial fabric and the green recovery of the economy and employment.
The company has launched a historic investment plan of 150 billion euros over the next decade – 75 billion euros by 2025 – to triple renewable capacity and double network assets, taking advantage of the opportunities of the energy revolution facing the world’s leading economies.
Almost half of this volume of investment will go to the electricity networks business, with the aim of continuing its international deployment, consolidating a solid distribution network and making it more flexible, based on an ambitious digitalisation process as a key element to respond to the future needs of the electricity system.
Iberdrola operates one of the largest electricity distribution systems in the world; more than 1.2 million kilometres of transmission and distribution lines and more than 4,400 substations, which distribute electricity to more than 34 million people around the world, in countries such as Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States and Brazil.
By 2025, regulated assets will amount to 47 billion and will mainly be located in A-rated countries. By 2030, the company expects to double the regulated value of its network assets to 60 billion euros.
