Canadian Solar sells 635MWp PV project in Brazilian state of Minas Gerais

Canadian Solar has completed the sale of a 635MWp solar PV plant in Brazil to renewable energy company VTRM Energia Participa??es.
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.
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.