One of the leading companies in the photovoltaic solar generation segment in Brazil, ENGIE together with the Grupo BC Energia are to announce this Tuesday, July 24, the installation of a solar-hydric hybrid plant project in the municipality of Caiapônia, southeast Goiás, 318 km from the state capital, Goiânia. The hybrid plant is to be installed in the Rio Bonito complex, the property of Grupo BC Energia, which already operates the hydroelectric power plants (CGHs) Rio Bonito I and II, with an installed output of 1,900 kVA. The photovoltaic plant project, which will be incorporated in the hydroelectric generation complex, was developed by ENGIE and is to be concluded by early 2019.

The enterprise is the largest system of hybrid generation in the state of Goiás and one of the largest in Brazil in energy volume to be injected into the network. The system operates according to the compensation model in which surplus energy not consumed when generated is transformed into credits with the power concessionaire for future consumption. The complex’s generation plants have been leased out to three major regional retail groups which have begun to generate their own energy. There will be 142 consumer units – or equivalent to 20% of the current Distributed Generation units in Goiás – which will begin to enjoy the benefits of self-production. “The hybrid plant’s clients will have the financial benefit of generating their own energy while still collaborating with the environment producing and consuming decarbonized and renewable energy”, explains Rodrigo Kimura, director for Operations at ENGIE Geração Solar Distribuída.

There will be 3,780 solar modules situated over an area of 14,000 square meters adjacent to the hydroelectric plant with capacity initially contracted of 1.25 MW. “However, the project is already being upgraded to 1.50 MW and, with the optimization of the systems, is to generate a total of 11,000 MWh/year, 8,000 MWh/year from the hydric source and 3,000 MWh/year from the photovoltaic solar source”, explains Carlos Cunha, vice president at Grupo BC Energia. Expected investment is R$ 16 million, R$ 4.3 million of which in solar. When operational, the solar-hydric complex is expected to produce enough energy to supply a city with a population of 33,000.

“For the implementation of the project, BC Renováveis, responsible for the generation assets of the Grupo BC Energia, contacted ENGIE to execute the project on the basis of the turnkey model in the light of the company’s relevance and solidity in the renewable energy sector”, explains Cunha. “This partnership represents the strengthening of the companies both regionally and nationally. On the one hand ENGIE, a world class reference in photovoltaic solar energy and on the other, the Grupo BC Energia, operating in the electricity generation and commercialization sector since 2014, a bellwether in the state of Goiás”, he concludes.

As a result of the meshing of photovoltaic solar generation, which is intermittent, with hydric generation, the hybrid plant is able to maintain a regularity of generation over the course of the year. In the dry periods when the hydro plants see a significant reduction in generation, the solar unit is able to maintain the average of electric energy injected into the distributor’s network.

“The concept of hybrid systems can ensure the economic feasibility of numerous distributed generation projects. We believe that to have a source that is complementary to solar and which offers a volume of energy injected into the system at times when the network is seeing higher demand such as at night, will be beneficial”, says Cunha.