Starting in October, work on the installation of wind turbines for the first wind power complex in the Northeast region of Bahia, located between the municipalities of Tucano, Araci and Biritinga, 268 km from Salvador, is expected to begin, which will have an installed capacity of 322 Megawatts (MW).
It is estimated that all stages of work generate up to 500 jobs, taking advantage of local labor. According to the company, the park will have the largest wind turbines ever installed in Brazil in terms of power and size. This is Tietê’s second undertaking in the state, where it is also responsible for the operation of the Alto Sertão II Wind Farm, located in the cities of Caetité, Guanambi, Igaporã and Pindaí, 636 km from Salvador.
The State Government, through the Ministry of Economic Development (SDE), has institutionally supported the implementation of the project. “Renewable energies are a source of pride for Bahia and it is a pleasure to know that wind turbines will leverage the economy in a region that, until then, was not exploited by wind energy. It is important to highlight the role of the SDE as an articulator with other bodies such as those responsible for land policy, environmental bodies, entities responsible for historical, artistic and cultural heritage, as well as city halls, seeking improvements in the authorization processes that they have an impact on the term and even the viability of wind projects ”, says Vice Governor João Leão, secretary of the portfolio.
In the first half of 2020, Bahia led the generation of wind energy in the country, the second largest source of energy in the Brazilian matrix, with 32.4% of the national matrix and 48.2% in the state, according to the Wind Energy Report. of the SDE. There are 172 wind farms in operation, spread over 20 municipalities, with 4.2 Gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity. Since 2012, the amount invested in the parks in activity exceeds R $ 16.5 billion and more than 45.9 thousand direct jobs were generated in the construction phase of the parks. The 123 new wind farms contracted, which will start operating in 2025, will have an installed capacity of 3.5 GW and will generate 53 thousand jobs. The forecast is that, together, they can inject R $ 13.2 billion into the state.
According to the Brazilian Wind Energy Association (Abeeólica), installed capacity in the country reached 16 GW in the first half of 2020. There are 637 wind farms and 7,738 wind turbines.
According to Rodrigo D’Elia, Director of Engineering and Construction of AES Tietê, the company works with hydroelectric, solar and wind energy, with nine hydroelectric plants and three small hydroelectric plants, the Guaimbê and O Oeste Solar Complexes, in São Paulo. He considers that these forms of energy generation are complementary, because although the hydraulic ones are conditioned to the climate, the others are also intermittent.
He explained that the region was explored by the new business department as a customized solution according to the needs of the company’s clients. The project was acquired from a developer, a company looked for ways to deliver it. The project is expected to be completed in mid-2022. When fully operational, the forecast is for 1,600 GWh production.
The first stage of the works of the Tucano Wind Complex will consist of 52 wind turbines, which will be supplied by Siemens Gamesa, whose production unit is located in the municipality of Camaçari, in Bahia. The wind turbines will be installed on 115-meter-high steel towers and will have blades more than 80 meters long, forming a circumference of 170 meters in diameter. The works of the first phase will begin after the opinion of the Operator of the National Electric System (ONS) and the issuance of environmental licenses issued by the Institute of the Environment and Water Resources (Inema).
The second phase of the project, still without a start date or cost estimate, will have an installed capacity of 258 MW, totaling 580 MW in the entire wind farm. AES Tietê initiated a social diagnostic work in the region to identify the potential of the community and local challenges. With these data, the company will plan social development initiatives to be implemented in the municipalities surrounding the wind complex, in line with the Sustainability and Private Social Investment guidelines.
In Alto Sertão II, a company employs nine employees and another 70 service providers. The wind farms, with 230 wind towers, have an installed capacity to generate 386.1 MW of energy, contracted for 20 years, through the reserve energy auction and new energy auction carried out in 2010 and 2011, whose contracts expire in 2033 and 2035, respectively.
