With the presence of the rector of Unicamp, Antonio José de Almeida Meirelles, the mayor of Campinas, Dário Saadi (Republicans), the vice-president of regular operations at CPFL Energia, Luis Henrique Ferreira Pinto, the director of the IOU, Agricio Crespo, among other guests, the Photovoltaic Plant of the Institute of Otorhinolaryngology & Head and Neck Surgery (IOU) was delivered. The ceremony, held this Wednesday, the 1st, is part of the concessionaire's energy efficiency project in hospitals. Also present was Unicamp professor and president of the International Union of Public Transport (UITP Latin America), Jurandir Fernandes. The event took place in the IOU building, which is in the final stages of construction.
162 photovoltaic panels were installed on the IOU roof. The building has sustainability-oriented architecture and construction. The plant has a power of 65,6 kWp, equivalent to the monthly energy consumed by 40 homes, and an annual generation capacity of 96 MWh. According to information from CPFL, the system prevents the emission of 10,2 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere – which corresponds to the planting of 61 new trees.
The dean thanked CPFL Energia and Aneel (National Electric Energy Agency) for the partnership. Antonio Meirelles also highlighted the work carried out by Unicamp professionals through the Sustainable Campus project, highlighting the presence at the event of professor from the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering (FEEC) Luiz Carlos Pereira da Silva, winner of the Technology Personality award of 2021 in the Sustainable Energy category. “The IOU is Unicamp’s new health equipment. We are looking for alternatives to minimize the university’s costs without compromising the service provided to the community”, stated the dean. He also highlighted that partnerships with the private sector contributed to “the important role of the university, which is to train people”.
Investments in the healthcare sector at Unicamp
In addition to the IOU, the CPFL in Hospitals Program includes other Unicamp units: Hospital de Clínicas, Center for the Diagnosis of Diseases of the Digestive System (Gastrocentro), Community Health Center (Cecom), Hospital da Mulher-Caism and Hemocentro, the last two with equipment already installed. CPFL will invest a total of R$4,5 million in Unicamp's health sector, with the installation of 1.095 kWp of solar generation and 15.983 lamps.
For the mayor of Campinas, Dário Saadi, the savings produced by the plant are important for generating financial savings and benefiting the environment. “I congratulate Unicamp and CPFL for the partnership and for such an important action”, he highlighted.
"The CPFL in Hospitals Program has played an exceptional role in supporting public and philanthropic institutions, through the efficient and sustainable use of energy. This delivery, like the 182 already completed, is a source of pride for the company and is aligned with our sustainability plan. We are sure that such initiatives will contribute to the good service of the population in the benefited areas”, highlighted Luis Henrique Ferreira Pinto, vice-president of regulated operations at CPFL Energia.
The director of the IOU, Agricio Crespo, said that CPFL has invested, to date, around R$300 for the construction of the 65,61 kWpeak photovoltaic plant. This will allow the hospital to be used as an experimentation space for new developments. “We will have the first technological residency in Brazil in this unit. CPFL Energia and Professor Luiz Carlos have been central figures in moving forward with the project,” he informed.
Sustainable Campus
The Sustainable Campus is a Unicamp project to implement actions to reduce energy, water and other consumption. In partnership with CPFL, the electric bus runs around the campus. Under the coordination of professor Luiz Carlos, among other measures, photovoltaic panels were installed on the roof of the Multidisciplinary Gym and in qiosks to be used by students.
CPFL in Hospitals
CPFL operates in 182 public and philanthropic hospitals in São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul with energy efficiency actions under the CPFL and RGE in Hospitals program. The works completed by October 2021 will represent savings of around R$11,2 million annually on the institutions' electricity bills, which could be used to serve the population.
CPFL Energia highlights that it has already invested R$128 million in these works. In addition to the implementation of photovoltaic plants with a total installed power of 14,46 MWp, it is planned to replace more than 102 thousand common lamps with LED models. The systems will provide estimated electrical energy savings of 26,4 GWh per year, which is equivalent to the annual consumption of 8.238 medium-sized homes, avoiding the emission of 1.997 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere – which corresponds to the planting of 11.984 trees .
