'Power for 1.5 million' | EDP's biggest wind complex worldwide brought online in Brazil

Portuguese utility's renewables arm inaugurates 580MW 14-project power plant in state of Rio Grande do Norte set to supply population of 1.5 million

EDP Renewables, Portuguese utility EDP’s clean-energy arm, has powered up its largest-ever wind power plant, a sprawling three-complex 580MW development in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte.

Made up of 14 smaller arrays built under the banners of Monte Verde, Boqueirão, and Jerusalém, the mega-project will add to the developer’s current 1.1GW portfolio of operational plant and arrays in development in the region, home to Brazil’s richest wind resource.

At full production, the complex will generate enough electricity to supply more than 1.5 million Brazlians a year.

"The Boqueirão, Jerusalém and Monte Verde wind farms [are] making a significant contribution to harnessing the energy potential of Rio Grande do Norte, a state that has been driving wind production in recent years,” said Duarte Bello, EDP Renewables’ COO for Europe and Latin America.

The project employed more than 3,000 workers during construction, and more than 80 permanent jobs were created for operation and maintenance of the wind farms.

Monte Verde is now the second largest wind farm in Rio Grande do Norte with a plant capacity of almost 320MW, making it able to generate electricity supply for some 314,000 homes on its own. Jerusalém has a 180MW nameplate and Boqueirão 79MW.

There is renewed interest in Brazil from major developers after a falllow period in the Latin American country's market, with latest indicators to be seen in its anti-trust watchdog Cade approving purchase by French oil giant TotalEnergies of a third of the power generation business of Casa dos Ventos, one of Brazil’s biggest renewable energy players.