Itaipu initiated the call for binational bids for the provision, installation and commissioning of a 1,000 kilowatts (kW) floating solar system in the Hydroelectric Power Plant reservoir.
The initiative, which seeks to advance in the generation of electrical energy from a solar source, is undertaken binationally, with the accompaniment of the Itaipu Technology Parks (PTI) on both sides.
As reported by the Entity’s Renewable Energy Advisory, the call is addressed to consortia of Paraguayan and Brazilian companies, respectively.
The Paraguayan CEO of Itaipu, Justo Zacarías Irún, explained that initially a 10 MW power plant was considered, but finally the Executive Board authorized a first phase with a capacity of 1,000 kW.
“The floating solar plant to be installed in one part of the reservoir will be one of the most important in the region and the largest in Paraguay. This will allow us to identify and understand, not only the generation component, but the accompaniment system, monitoring and the most approximate costs, that only the studies that will be done will give us to make a practical application of the site. They will also help identify the different environmental and energy parameters”, stressed the CEO.
Likewise, he added that knowing the real costs is key to determine the optimisation of the assembly area or increase the size of the plant, in addition to the capacity and power. As for the annual generation, he noted that the idea is for the solar plant to produce approximately 1,800 to 2,000 MWh of energy per year and that it will be for internal use by the ITAIPU priority area.
Binational call
Likewise, the head of the Right Margin pointed out that the call is open to consortia of companies from both Paraguay and Brazil. “This is a binational process, the technical specifications necessary for the call for bids were built in conjunction with the Left Bank”, he remarked.
The term for the installation of the floating solar plant is about 4 months, once it is awarded. If there are no major drawbacks, it is estimated that even within this year the floating plant could already be assembled with an experimental phase and then the coupling and verification stage of its systems would enter SCADA and monitoring.
As reported by the Entity’s Renewable Energy Advisory, within the first quarter of next year it would be put into operation to connect to the systems. Regarding the advantage of the floating solar plant, they pointed out that it is not necessary to alter the natural environment of the protected areas for its installation, a factor that you want to take advantage of and exploit. Likewise, they indicated that the area to be occupied in this first phase is less than 1 hectare.
