It has an evocative name: Santa Maria 3–Santo Angelo 2. And a critical mission: to connect a large complex of renewable energy plants (largely wind power) located across the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul to the Brazilian electricity grid.
This 158-kilometre, 230-kilovolt power line is extremely important. The project was completed in 12 months (that’s two months early), thanks to the more than 500 technicians from 10 different companies who built the 322 pylons.
It has an evocative name, Santa Maria 3 – Santo Angelo 2, and a critical mission: to connect a large complex of renewable energy plants (largely wind power) located across the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul to the Brazilian electricity grid.
This 158-kilometre, 230-kilovolt power line is extremely important. The project was completed in 12 months (that’s two months early), thanks to the more than 500 technicians from 10 different companies who built the 322 pylons.
Sustainability is also key to the physical construction of the route, and collaboration with the Brazilian environmental authorities has been crucial. In fact, most of the line was built using single-stem pylons, which have a smaller footprint and environmental impact than traditional pylons. Always prioritising the land and dialogue with local populations, 20 indigenous Guarani families were invited to participate in a social inclusion programme.
Right now, Brazil is one of the largest electricity markets in the world due to growing economic development in the area and the large number of people and businesses that demand and consume significant quantities of energy. This is why the challenges of energy transition to renewable sources cannot be ignored, and investments in the grid are fundamental to both electrical and economic development.
There’s no doubt that this is an opportunity for Terna to further exploit our capabilities, to capitalise on our past and current work in Italy and in Europe. We have acquired highly advanced capabilities in the integration of renewables, and therefore, in developing the power lines that accompany the transition and decarbonisation process, a major topic of discussion in Europe, but also in Brazil and all over the world.
Luigi Ferraris, Terna CEO
Through group subsidiary, Terna Plus, and also through participation in multilateral cooperation programmes, Terna will take the experience it has gained in Italy and put it to work in new markets to the benefit of developing countries.
In addition to the Santa Maria 3 – Santo Angelo 2 line, another 350-kilometre line is under construction in the state of Mato Grosso. Overall, Terna has invested around € 160 million in construction of the two lines. This is in addition to other major projects in Latin America, such as the Melo — Tacuarembó power line in Uruguay (230 km) or the 132 km of new power lines between Aguaytía and Pucallpa in Peru.
