Canadian Solar has completed the sale of a 635MWp solar PV plant in Brazil to renewable energy company VTRM Energia Participações.
Located in the northeastern state of Minas Gerais, the Jaíba V project is in an advanced stage of development and is expected to begin construction in 2022 before reaching commercial operation in 2023.
Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis
Photovoltaics International is now included.
- Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
- In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
- Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
- Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
- Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
- Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual
Or continue reading this article for free
Spanning 3,706 acres, the plant will rank among Brazil’s largest solar projects, Canadian Solar said.
Approximately 40% of Jaíba V’s installed capacity is already committed through long-term power purchase agreements, and the remaining energy will be sold in the free market.
With the completion of this sale, Canadian Solar has monetised 1.6GWp of utility-scale solar projects in Brazil, said CEO Shawn Qu, adding that the company will continue to execute and monetise its remaining pipeline of more than 2.5GWp of PV plants in the country.
“We are pleased to partner with VTRM in this transaction for the Jaiba V project, which will meaningfully contribute towards Brazil’s goal of obtaining 23% of its energy from non-hydro renewable energy sources by 2030,” said Qu.
Starting operations in 2018 with a focus on renewables investment and development in Brazil, VTRM is a joint venture between Brazilian energy company Votorantim Energia and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments).
The project divestment follows Canadian Solar closing a BRL500 million (US$100 million) financing facility earlier this year to develop a Brazilian solar portfolio.
The state of Minas Gerais is also set to host a 766MWp PV project from mining company Vale, which has procured solar trackers from Nextracker for the plant that is expected to be complete in 2022.
Spanish developer Powertis also started construction work on a 112.5MWp PV project in the state earlier this year.