Baixo Iguaçu hydroelectric power plant

Iberdrola group reaffirmed its commitment to hydropower in Brazil with the construction of a new facility: the Baixo Iguaçu plant External link, opens in new window., located on the river of the same name, in the south-east of the state of Paraná. The power station, whose started-up was on December 2018, has over 245 MW of installed capacity with three generator sets and an average power of 171.3 MW, able to supply sustainable electricity to one million Brazilians and with a production equivalent to about 8 % of the annual electricity demand of the state of Paraná.

Located between the towns of Capanema and Capitão Leônidas Marques, the complex has a 516 metres long dam and a 60 kilometres transmission line. The dam has a flooded area of 13.5 km² and encompasses the municipal districts of Planalto, Realeza and Nova Prata do Iguaçu.

The complex has been certified for Operation and Maintenance (O&M) pursuant to three ISO standards: Quality Management (9001:2015), Environment (14001:2015) and Workplace Health and Safety (45001:2018).

This flagship project of the Iberdrola group has an important driving effect for the economy of the region: it had an investment of 2.300 billion reals (about 574.7 million dollars) and generated a total of 3,000 jobs during its construction. After its entry into operation, provides the coffers of municipalities served by the plant more than 4 million reais per year in taxes for the use of water resources.

During the opening ceremony of the power plant, held on 23 May of 2019, the president of Iberdrola group, Ignacio Galán, announced that the company's commitment in the country will continue to increase: "Only in the next five years will we invest around € 6.5 billion in new projects in Brazil to continue improving its electricity supply, and in this way, its competitiveness".

In addition, Galán highlighted the social and environmental involvement of the Baixo Iguaçu project: "This installation is a benefit for the Iguaçu waterfalls, since it will contribute to the maintenance of a minimum necessary flow. And to this must be added many other initiatives that have been promoted in health, education, infrastructure and public safety to preserve and promote the well-being of the region".

The renewable facility, which comes from an award from the National Electric Energy Agency of Brazil (Aneel), was built and managed by the Consórcio Empreendedor Baixo Iguaçu, consisting of Geração Céu Azul, belonging to the Neoenergia* group — Brazilian subsidiary of Iberdrola —, and Copel.

^* Neoenergia, S. A. is 50 % + 1 share indirectly owned by Iberdrola, S. A.

Iberdrola, world leader in renewable energies

At Iberdrola, we dare committed to renewable energy more than two decades ago as a fundamental pillar on which to build our safe, clean and competitive business model. Thanks to this vision, we are today world leaders in renewables, reaching 44,148 MW of clean energy in operation at the end of september 2024.

This commitment is reflected in our Strategic Plan, in which we will allocate €15.5bn gross to renewables. More than half of this amount is focused on offshore wind in the US, UK, France and Germany; 28% on onshore wind and 18% on solar.