Equinor and Rio Energy Initiate Commercial Power Production at Hybrid Serra da Babilonia Solar Facility in Brazil

Equinor and its Brazilian subsidiary Rio Energy have begun commercial power production at the Serra da Babilonia Solar facility in Brazil.

Strategically co-located with the existing Serra da Babilonia Wind, the project represents a hybrid asset in Equinor’s power portfolio, comprising 140 MW of solar and 223 MW of wind capacity. Hybrid projects help reduce the intermittency associated with renewable power generation and enhance grid stability.

Serra da Babilonia Solar leverages synergies from the operating wind facility by sharing existing infrastructure on site, and by achieving efficiencies during the operations and maintenance phase. This leads to material cost savings for the hybrid complex as compared to a standalone solar asset.

Accumulated annual production from Serra da Babilonia Solar is estimated at 236 GWh of power per year, which is equivalent to the consumption of 143,000 Brazilian households. The produced energy will be sold in the Brazilian power market by Equinor’s energy trading house, Danske Commodities.

“Brazil is a key area for Equinor’s long-term growth. Building on a solid portfolio of oil and natural gas, including Raia that will supply around 15% of Brazil’s total gas demand, we are advancing towards a more integrated and diverse energy offering in the country,” said Veronica Coelho, senior vice president and country manager for Equinor Brazil. “With Serra da Babilônia Solar operational, we now have around 600 MW of solar and wind capacity in power production, which we can further optimize through our trading arm Danske Commodities based in São Paulo.”