Chinese electricity company SPIC announced a 780 million reais (USD 147.41 million) investment in construction of two new wind farms in Northeastern Brazil, while making its debut in the country’s solar sector, with two large parks beginning operations.
China´s State Power Corporation Limited (SPIC) is diversifying its portfolio and aiming to become one of Brazil’s three largest energy generators, Adriana Waltrick, CEO of SPIC’s Brazilian unit, told Reuters.
SPIC’s new wind farms, to be built in Rio Grande do Norte state, will have a combined installed capacity of 105.4 megawatts (MW) to be sold on the free energy market. Construction work is expected to begin by January 2025 and operations should start the following year.
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New solar parks were inaugurated this week in Piaui and Ceara states, totaling 738 megawatts-peak (MWp) of power.
SPIC holds a 70% stake of the parks, which the Chinese company purchased in 2022 when they were under development by Recurrent Energy. Recurrent, formerly Canadian Solar, remains a shareholder and operates the project.
The solar plants received 2 billion reais in investments and all energy produced will be sold on the free energy market. Around 65% of the energy has already been sold under long-term contracts, and the remaining 35% will be negotiated under shorter deals.
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“These projects demonstrate the appetite we have for Brazil and for renewable energy sources” said CEO Waltrick.
SPIC , based in Shanghai, has approximately 3,800 MW of installed capacity with assets in operation in Brazil, considered one of the company’s priority markets.
The firm is awaiting news from the Brazilian government about energy auctions already planned for this year, and would also be interested in taking part in possible bids for new hydroelectric plants, should the government decide to resume such projects.
The Chinese giant’s projects in the country also involve studies into the production of green hydrogen associated with installation of offshore wind turbines, a generation technology already mastered by the company outside Brazil.
SPIC was founded in 2015 through the union between China Power Investment Corporation and SNPTC. It is currently one of China’s top five power generator groups and the world’s largest solar generator.
Its energy matrix has a total installed capacity of 176 GW in 46 countries and is powered by more than 130,000 employees. SPIC has about 140,000 employees and holds seven listed companies, two of which are red chip companies traded in Hong Kong while the other five offer A-shares in mainland China
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