Iberdrola wins 90MW in Brazil auction

BRAZIL: Iberdrola and Brazilian energy firm Neoenergia are to develop three wind farms in Brazil with a combined capacity of 90MW.

Iberdrola built the Calango project in Brazil in 2012

The companies, under joint venture Força Eólica do Brasil, won the right to develop the Canoas, Lagoa I and Lagoa II projects in November's A-5 energy tender. Each of the developments will have a capacity of 30MW, and will be located in the state of Paraíba in the north east of the country.

Iberdrola said it has lined up Gamesa to supply the turbines for the projects, but did not reveal the model it would use. The joint venture is expected to invest €150 million in the projects.

Once these projects are complete, Iberdrola will operate 17 wind projects in Brazil with a combined capacity of 511MW.

Brazil's National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL) awarded 925.95MW of wind power in the A-5 power auction on 28 November. Bucking the trend of recent auctions, thermal power plants were favoured over wind, with 4GW of gas and coal contracts awarded.

The Iberdrola and Neoenergia consortium was also awarded three contracts in the A-3 auction in June of this year. These are the 30MW Calango 6, 30MW Santana 1, and 24MW Santana 2, all of which are in the Rio Grande do Norte.