Since the end of May, Paradigma Cine Arte, Florianópolis, is offering movie audiences a major differential in sustainability: it is the first cinema to be totally supplied by solar energy in southern Brazil. The photovoltaic system with a 95.04 kWp (kilowatt-peak) capacity with 500 panels installed in 2 thousand m² of roof of the Corporate Park Business Center, was installed by ENGIE. Generation is estimated at 117.7 thousand kWh/year and supplying the cinema’s entire energy requirements as well as the offices of the construction company which manages the condominium.

“We are very satisfied and next year we expect to expand the project to the entire common areas of the Business Center”, says the partner of Rá Incorporações and administrator of Paradigma, Frederico Didoné. He says that ENGIE’s system was planned to generate an average monthly saving of R$ 8 thousand. His expectation is that the investment of R$ 390 thousand in equipment and R$ 60 thousand in civil engineering work will pay for itself within five years. The equipment has a useful life of approximately 25 years.

A cultural reference in the city, Paradigma exhibits films that are not usually shown in the commercial circuit. Already more than 1,500 titles have been exhibited since the cinema’s opening in 2010 with four sessions daily. The programming highlights events such as the French Cinema Varilux Festival, which in June will show 20 films exhibited for the first time over a three week period. “ To invest in clean energy is an inevitable tendency and can be added to other initiatives of which we are very proud, such as the ornamental lakes supplied with rainwater and the end printed material in the dissemination of programing to save paper”, declares the businessman. “The public is aware and recognizes the importance of this”.

Located on the SC-401 highway, Corporate Park comprises 60 companies of various sizes and segments in eight blocks of horizontally built constructions. This architectural layout is favorable for the installation of photovoltaic panels. Future expansion in the system to cover the remaining 6 thousand m² of roof can be used to supply energy to the garages, elevators, security cameras, nighttime illumination, sewage treatment station and pumps for pumping water from two artesian wells.

Another of ENGIE’s clients in Florianópolis are the Law Courts of the state of Santa Catarina, where imminently a photovoltaic system with an installed capacity of 46.9 kWp and an estimated generation of 58.2 thousand kWh/year is to be unveiled. In São Carlos, in the west of the state, in March ENGIE helped Ogochi to become one of the first apparel manufacturers in Brazil to reach self-sufficiency in photovoltaic solar energy generation.

“It gives us great satisfaction to be able to contribute to these projects”, declares ENGIE’s executive director for photovoltaic solutions, Rodrigo Kimura. “We have other integrated solutions for companies to become more efficient from the energy point of view and more sustainable in relation to the use of natural resources”. With more than 2,300 installations installed, ENGIE is one of the leading suppliers of photovoltaic systems in Brazil. In 2019, the company plans to double its market share for distributed energy.