OREANDA-NEWS. November 14, 2011. MPX, entrepreneur Eike Batista EBX Group energy company, won the Eco Award 2011 bestowed by the American Chamber of Commerce and  Valor Economico. The award recognized the Taua Solar Power Plant, the first venture in Brazil to generate power from sunlight. MPX was awarded in the Sustainability Practices mode, in the Sustainability of Products and Services category. The awarding ceremony is scheduled for December 2.

This is the second time MPX receives the Eco Award. In  2010, MPX was recognized for the relocation of 95 families in Maranhao in line with the strictest international standards.  “Once again MPX is proud to receive the Eco Award in recognition of the sustainable practices enforced by our company. We are convinced that we are treading the right path, and the recognition represents further motivation to go forward in our search for standards of socioenvironmental excellence standards in our businesses”, MPX President Eduardo Karrer, said.

The Taua Solar Power Plant is in operation in the municipality of the same name, inland in the state of Ceara, and is a unique venture in the country. The power produced from solar radiation at the plant is connected to the National Interconnected System. This is an important initiative because Taua is a large scale power generation unit enabling power distribution to a larger number of consumers. Previous  solar power experiences in Brazil were restricted to isolated systems. “MPX is expecting to contribute to the advancement of solar power generation, tapping the immense and still largely unexplored Brazilian potential”, Karrer commented.

MPX has signed an agreement with the State University of  Ceara (UECE) under which, among other projects,  UECE students will be able to access the data generated by solar plant operation to use such data in researches, producing knowledge. The company also offers a program of visits to the Taua Solar Power Plant,  which is open to anyone interested in getting acquainted with the venture and understanding how photovoltaic solar power generation works.

Officially started in August in the city of  Taua (CE),  the polar plant has  now 1MV capacity, which is enough to supply power to about 1,500 homes. Plant grounds extend over an area of 12 thousand meters, and  features 4,680 photovoltaic panels that transform solar radiation into power.   For this first phase of the venture, MPX has disbursed  BRL  10 million and counted on R4 1.2 million capital contribution from the Interamerican Development Bank  (IDB).  MPX is working with GE in the increase of plant installed capacity. MPX has been authorized by the regulator and issued an environmental license to increase capacity to  5 MW. The Taua Solar Power Plant project was designed to reach 50 MW.