The Company will promote the removal of waste from works which have abandoned by third parties for more than five years in the surroundings of its Jalapão project. Material will be delivered for the City Governments to carry out road improvements

Neoenergia's priority in its projects is to promote benefits for the environment​ and society, with the objective of contributing to sustainable development in the areas where it operates. In line with this vision, the company has just started to remove an environmental liability arising from interrupted works around the transmission line of approximately 730 kilometers it is building among the States of Tocantins, Maranhão, Piauí and Bahia. The structures were abandoned on site more than five years ago, before the company acquired the project in lot 4 of auction 002/2017 of the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (Aneel). As a result of the action, the collected waste will be crushed and donated to City Governments so that they can be reused in road interventions, helping the population with better access to the cities.

The actions are carried out with authorization and monitoring by Ibama (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources). “The work of removing the waste is essential for the environmental recovery of that section, allowing the area to resume its natural conditions prior to the works that were paralyzed by third parties, before we came to the region to build our project. The actions were planned on the basis of technical studies and in order to contribute to that region, so rich in natural resources. In addition, there will be a social benefit for the local population, who will be able to count on improvements in municipal roads and side roads", stated Neoenergia's Transmission Director, Fabiano Uchoas.

The work will be carried out across the entire project, removing approximately 4 thousand foundations from an unfinished transmission line​ at the site, spread over 418 kilometers, between the Cities of Miracema do Tocantins and Gilbués (PI), and 312 kilometers, from Piauí to the City of Barreiras, in Bahia.

Over the next three months, 1.2 thousand cubic meters of concrete should be removed, which will be crushed into small pi​eces, sufficient to gravel approximately 24,000 square meters of streets or side roads. It is also estimated that 96 thousand kilograms of construction hardware; 2.7 thousand meters of piles; 200 pieces of towers built into the bases and 205 thousand meters of cables will be removed. This material will be supplied to the City Governments of the region.

Generation of more than 2 thousand jobs

Neoenergia operates in the region implementing the Jalapão transmission line, which is intended to improve the reliability and assist the exchange of energy between the North and Northeast regions. The project will contribute to the flow of energy generated by Belo Monte hydroelectric power plant (PA), an asset from which the company holds interest. With an installed capacity of 11,233.1 MW, it is the largest 100% Brazilian power plant.

“During the works of the Jalapão project, we promoted the generation of more than 2 thousand direct jobs for the implementation of the transmission line and another 250 in substation works, stimulating the economic growth of the region. Contributing to the locations where we are settling the project and the surrounding Cities, we also run several environmental programs, aimed at raising awareness, conserving flora, monitoring fauna and controlling pollution", stated the implantation manager for Jalapão project, Pedro Herrmann.

With about 730 kilometers, the project is the longest currently under construction by Neoenergia - except only for the latest project acquired by the company in lot 2 of auction 001/2020, which provides for the installation of 1,091 kilometers of lines and will be developed as of this year. In Jalapão, two 500 kV live transmission lines are under construction, one between the Miracema and Gilbués II substations and the other between Gilbués II and Barreiras II.

The first towers were hoisted in July 2020 on both sections, with an average height of 40 meters and weight of nine tons, and the works continue to advance at a fast pace, following a strict health and safety protocol in order to prevent COVID-19 contamination. In the section between the States of Tocantins and Piauí, 80% of the interventions have already been completed and the level of completion reaches 85% from Piauí to Bahia.