ENGIE inaugurates the Jirau power plant in Brazil, the Group’s largest hydroelectric project in the world
On December 16, the Jirau Hydroelectric Plant, located on the Madeira River in the State of Rondônia (northern Brazil), was inaugurated in the presence of Gérard Mestrallet, President of ENGIE. Jirau, the country’s fourth largest power station, is the largest hydroelectric project in the world. With a total of 50 turbines, the plant has a total capacity of 3,750 MW and will produce the equivalent of the consumption of more than 10 million homes. The Jirau hydroelectric power plant is owned by Energia Sustentável do Brasil, a project company constituted by ENGIE (40%), Eletrobras Eletrosul (20%), Eletrobras Chesf (20%) and Mizha Participações SA & CO., LTD. The project will require a total investment of approximately US $ 5.3 billion and 90 months of work. The concession contract, for a period of 35 years, will provide the energy necessary to ensure the industrial growth of the region. 70% of the plant’s production is already sold through long-term contracts. The balance will be offered to industrial customers.
Certified by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), the Jirau plant will reduce approximately six million tons of CO emissions 2 per year, Which would have been issued by other sources of production. The construction of the site generated more than 60,000 directly and indirectly mainly local jobs. In addition, the project has an important socio-environmental component with the launch of 34 programs with a total investment of US $ 390 million. This has contributed to the economic, social and environmental development of the region. Since 2010, more than 140 actions have been carried out to improve the quality of life of thousands of families living in the vicinity.
A new town, called “Nova Mutum Paraná”, was also built to carry out the program of rehousing the populations concerned. With a surface area of 2 million square meters, it has 1,600 housing units and can accommodate up to 6,000 inhabitants. Offered in January 2011 to the city council of Porto Velho, it is equipped with all infrastructures: primary and secondary schools, crèches and health centers, gendarmerie, police and firemen, 3G mobile phone and Internet services, wastewater management , Electricity, landscapes and leisure areas, but also shopping center or bus station.
With the Jirau plant, the Group confirms its position as an independent leader in electricity generation in Brazil. The success of this large-scale project illustrates the expertise and skills of the teams in the commercial, financial, socio-environmental and engineering fields. ENGIE has been present in the country for 20 years, mainly through the production of renewable energy and services. Its objective is to develop its decentralized energy production activities and to support the transformation of cities that aim to be smarter , Safer and more sustainable.
As the country’s largest private electricity producer, ENGIE has 10,212 MW of generating capacity in 28 power plants in Brazil, representing about 6% of the country’s production. 90% of these capacities come from clean and renewable sources with low greenhouse gas emissions, a position reinforced by the construction of wind farms in the north-east of the country and by Jirau, one of the largest hydroelectric power stations in the country. Brazil. The Group is also present in the decentralized production of solar energy and offers its customers services related to energy, general engineering and systems integration for the development of telecommunications and safety devices, lighting Public and urban mobility for smart cities, infrastructure and the oil and gas sector. By 2015, ENGIE had 3,000 employees in the country, with a turnover of about US $ 2 billion.
