NEC is in the final stages of selling the Riacho solar project, which began in 2020. The photovoltaic complex will be installed in the municipality of Buritizeiro, in the macro-region of Northern Minas, with an installed capacity of 48 MWa.c. The project was sold to Elétron Energy, which already has a portfolio of over 80MW. With the contract signed, the company obtained approval for the transaction from the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) in March 2024.
According to Bianca Sibinelli, PMO Leader, making a project viable in northern Minas Gerais is no easy task. “All developers seek this region due to the high solar irradiation index, tax incentives, and proximity to the southeastern market, making the region highly competitive in terms of connection outflow,” explains Sibinelli.
To enable the connection of the Riacho Project, various analyses and attempts were made, requiring resilience to overcome obstacles. “As a result, we managed not only to reduce costs and deadlines for connecting the project but also to minimize environmental impacts,” highlights the PMO Leader.
Among the project’s achievements, the team presented solid technical arguments to the concessionaire that supported the change of the originally proposed connection point. This change directed the connection within the area previously licensed for the UFV, resulting in the most compact connection ever developed by our Group, with only 80 meters of 138kV transmission line.
From an environmental perspective, the project required special attention and joint efforts from the Engineering and Environmental Licensing teams, resulting in the preservation of approximately 75 hectares of vereda area. The environmental intervention process also includes the recovery of permanent preservation areas (APPs) around the veredas through the planting of native species.
Additionally, to provide environmental gains, the relocation of the property’s Legal Reserve (RL) was proposed. The area initially included partially anthropized (pasture) land without native vegetation. The full relocation was done to an area 100% covered with typical Cerrado vegetation, reinforcing our commitment to environmental preservation.
The land, located on the banks of the São Francisco River, required a detailed evaluation of topography and hydrology. With the Developer’s already established expertise in evaluating historical flow series (previously used in the development of SHPs), the project layout was carefully designed to withstand historical floods.
Excellence in the environmental licensing process, care for the environment, and the quality of technical analyses were crucial points for the client at the time of the project sale, exemplifying our value of transforming market and client opportunities into results.
