Equinor and its Brazilian subsidiary Rio Energy have started commercial power production at the Serra da Babilônia Solar facility in Brazil.
Strategically co-located with the existing
Serra da Babilônia Wind, this represents the first hybrid asset in Equinor’s
power portfolio, comprising 140 MW of solar and 223 MW of wind capacity.
“Hybrid projects that
effectively integrate solar and wind technologies support a stable and reliable
energy supply while enhancing value creation, in line with Equinor’s strategy.
Such projects and the integration of technologies will be important for building
a competitive power business,” says Helge Haugane, executive vice president for
Power at Equinor.
Hybrid projects take
advantage of the complementary nature of solar and wind resources, which
generate power at different times of the day and throughout different seasons.
This helps to reduce
the intermittency associated with renewable power generation and enhance grid
stability.
Further, Serra da
Babilônia Solar leverages synergies from the operating wind facility by sharing
existing infrastructure on site, and by achieving efficiencies during the
operations and maintenance phase.
This results in
material cost savings for the hybrid complex compared to a standalone solar
asset.
Accumulated annual
production from Serra da Babilônia Solar is estimated at 236 GWh of power per
year, which is equivalent to the consumption of 143,000 Brazilian households.
The produced energy
will be sold in the Brazilian power market by Equinor’s energy trading house,
Danske Commodities.
“Brazil is a key area
for Equinor’s long-term growth. Building on a solid portfolio of oil and
natural gas, including Raia that will supply around 15% of Brazil’s total gas
demand, we are advancing towards a more integrated and diverse energy offering
in the country. With Serra da Babilônia Solar operational, we now have around
600 MW of solar and wind capacity in power production, which we can further
optimise through our trading arm Danske Commodities based in São Paulo,” says
Veronica Coelho, senior vice president and country manager for Equinor Brazil.
