The third Cachoeira Caldeirão HPP generation unit soon to startup | EDP Brasil

EDP Brasil, a company that operates in the areas of energy distribution, generation, commercialization and solutions, on Thursday (4) concluded their works in the Cachoeira Caldeir‹o hydroelectric plant operated in partnership with CWEI Brasil Participa›es, a company belonging to China Three Gorges (CTG).

"This is the second hydroelectric plant we have delivered before the deadline and within the budget since 2014. The first was the UHE Santo Ant™nio do Jari project, with a capacity of 373.4 MW, demonstrating the consistency of the building model adopted by EDP Brasil for infrastructure works," says Miguel Setas, the company CEO.

The hydroelectric plant has three generation units, totaling 219 MW and a physical guarantee of 129.7 MW. EDP Brasil thus reaches an installed capacity of 2.8 GW, a number that will advance to 3 GW by 2018 when the works for the S‹o Manoel Hydroelectric Power Plant are finished.

The project, built on the Araguari River in the state of Amap‡, works through water threads, a configuration which uses a low volume of accumulated water for the generation of energy. The works began in August 2013 and currently amount to investments of R$ 1.2 billion.

With the Commercial Operation Statement (DCO) issued by the National Electricity Agency (Aneel), the plant is able to trade energy and strengthen the electrical system. Energy sales contracts must be complied with only as of January 1, 2017, in the case of the first turbine, and from May, in the case of the third turbine, so the volume produced will be settled in the short-term market or may be marketed in contracts.

To conduct power generation to the National Interconnected System (SIN), a Transmission Line was built between the hydroelectric plant and the Ferreira Gomes substation, which in turn connects to the substation of Macap‡, which is integrated into the SIN. This infrastructure work involved the construction of 38 towers along a path of 13.4 km.