Wind turbines installed in Rio do Fogo, on the North coast, and in Serra do Mel, in the Western region of Potiguar, have generated more than 1.5 million megawatts/hour
A pioneer in the generation of wind power in Latin America, Neonergia celebrates this month the 10 years of operation of the Arizona and Mel Wind Farms in Rio Grande do Norte. Over the course of a decade, the two projects generated 1.5 million megawatts/hour from 24 wind turbines installed in strategic regions of the coast and the potiguares sertão. These parks, next to Rio do Fogo, are the oldest of Neoenergia in operation and one of the first built by the company in the state.
"Looking back and seeing all the difficulties we went through to insert wind in our power generation matrix, we consider ourselves winners. Together, we have overcome all the challenges and all these achievements turn into profitable numbers and high-performance professionals. This makes a huge difference socially and economically in the region. The operation of the parks proves to us that nature and technology with the generation of energy can coexist harmoniously ", said Laura Porto, executive director of Renewables of Neoenergia, at the ceremony that celebrated the milestone of operation of the parks.
Laura Porto, Executive Director of Renewables at Neoenergia, stresses the importance of parks for the company
The event was also attended by neoenergia CEO Eduardo Capelastegui; the Operations and Maintenance Manager (O&M) of Neoenergia, Rodrigo Errera, of the manager responsible for the O&M of the parks of RN, Lícia Deniles; and the engineers and technicians who work in the wind farms visited the facilities of The Arizona Park, near the municipality of Rio do Fogo, on the north coast of the state. Since it was deployed, no cases of sick leave have been reported at the site, which is a source of pride for the team.
In addition, Rodrigo Herrera highlighted the importance of Neoenergia for the development of the wind sector in the state. " The pioneering of Neoenergia is a highlight over these years. Our first Wind Farm, Rio do Fogo, was installed 17 years ago. We were the first company to install a wind power generation structure in the territory of Potiguar and one of the first in Brazil. This puts us one step ahead in the operation and maintenance of our parks. Today, all of our maintenance of electrical installations is internalized and we continue to continuously seek improvements in our maintenance processes," he said.
Throughout Rio Grande do Norte, Neoenergia now has 11 wind farms in operation. Eduardo Capelastegui declared how proud he is to look back and realize the relevance of the sector to the economic and social development of the state." I want to thank all the people who contributed to the construction of this story. Rio Grande do Norte is a pioneer in the generation of renewable energies and we at Neoenergia are very happy to have our parks installed in this state that is so important to our company," he said.
According to the National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL), Rio Grande do Norte is the largest wind power generator in Brazil with 7.43 gigawatts (GW) of in-operation power ( in operation). Volume represents 30.20% of wind production in Brazil's energy matrix (24.6 GW).