Enel Green Power begins commercial operation of the Pedra Pintada wind farm, in Bahia

By Enel Green Power

Aug 7 2024

This is a machine translation of the press release originally published in Portuguese.

Enel Green Power Brasil, the renewable generation arm of the Enel Group in the country, announced the start of commercial operation of the Pedra Pintada Wind Complex (194 MW), located in the municipalities of Umburanas and Ourolândia, in Bahia. With investments of around R$1.8 billion, the wind complex reached full operation six months ahead of schedule in the project's initial schedule.

The new wind farm is made up of 43 wind turbines and will be capable of generating more than 894 GWh per year, equivalent to the energy needed to supply around 435 thousand homes. The plant's energy production has the potential to avoid the emission of 374 thousand tons of CO2 into the atmosphere annually.

This is the second Enel Green Power wind farm to enter commercial operation in the country this year, after the recent inauguration of Aroeira (348 MW), located in the municipalities of Umburanas, Morro do Chapéu and Ourolândia, in the same region where it is installed. the Pedra Pintada project. In total, EGP generated 6 thousand jobs in the construction of the two projects, of which more than 2 thousand were occupied by workers from the region.

“Around 10 years ago, Bahia received the first wind farms from Enel Green Power in Brazil. With the start of operations at Pedra Pintada, we show that this old partnership is increasingly strengthened. We are proud to be the main wind energy player in Bahia and Brazil”, says Bruno Riga, Responsible for Enel Green Power in Brazil.

In Brazil, the Enel Group has a total installed renewable capacity of more than 6 GW, of which more than 3.3 GW is from wind sources, more than 1.5 GW from solar sources and around 1.3 GW from hydroelectric sources.

Commitment to local communities

In line with its commitment to supporting development in the regions where it is present, Enel Green Power has developed several Sustainability actions in areas close to the Pedra Pintada and Aroeira parks, based on permanent dialogue with local communities. In total, more than 28 thousand residents in the municipalities within the parks' area of influence benefited, in 39 initiatives in the areas of environmental education, citizenship, health, diversity, culture and professional training.

Through the Enel Share Opportunity program, EGP promoted employability and income generation, promoting qualifications and training. The company prioritized hiring workers from local communities during the construction phase of the two wind farms and carried out, in partnership with Senai, 16 professional training courses in the cities of Umburanas and Ourolândia, with 160 trainees.

In the line of support for entrepreneurship, training is being offered to local community associations, with the aim of giving autonomy and increasing the income of participants and the community. In the environmental area, EGP worked in local communities with the implementation of a social technology for reusing gray water (wastewater originating from domestic processes, such as washing dishes and clothes) for irrigation and fertilization. Local rural producers received technical assistance promoted by EGP to improve their agricultural production, in addition to 50 thousand palm seedlings used to feed animals and a seedling nursery with medicinal plants

In the cultural and education segment, EGP developed the Baú de Leitura project, with the installation of school reading rooms with a collection of 900 works of children's and youth literature, in addition to two digital libraries. The initiative, which also promotes storytelling workshops, has already benefited more than 2,600 students. The company also donated kits with school supplies to 1,400 public school students.  

Enel Green Power ®, within the Enel Group, develops and operates renewable energy plants and is present in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania. A world leader in clean energy, with a total capacity of more than 64 GW and a generation mix that includes wind, solar, geothermal and hydropower, Enel Green Power is at the forefront of integrating innovative technologies into renewable energy plants.