Canadian Solar, a vertically integrated manufacturer of silicon ingots, wafers, and PV cells and modules, signed an agreement with SPIC Brasil, a power generation company in Brazil, to sell a 70% stake in 738 MW of solar projects in Brazil.
The projects Marangatu and Panati-Sitia have an installed capacity of 446 MW and 292 MW and are in Piaui and Ceara, the Northeastern states of Brazil, covering an area of 2,200 hectares. Both projects are at an advanced stage of development and are expected to begin construction in late 2022 and reach commercial operation in late 2023.
Upon completion, the projects are expected to be two of the largest solar projects in Brazil and generate clean electricity to be equivalent to powering over 900,000 households in Brazil annually. Around 75% of the project’s guaranteed energy is committed through long-term PPAs (power purchase agreements), and the remaining will be sold in the free market.
“With this sale, Canadian Solar will have successfully monetized 2.3 GW of utility-scale solar projects in Brazil. We will continue to execute and monetize our remaining backlog of 1.6 GW of high-quality, contracted solar projects in Brazil. Canadian Solar is a leader in the Brazilian market. We will expand our leadership across more Latin American markets, including Colombia and Chile,” said Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar.
“This acquisition marks the company’s first solar investment in Brazil, and the partnership with Canadian Solar is strategic, given Canadian Solar’s experience and pioneering spirit on solar projects implementation and manufacturing,” commented Adriana Waltrick, CEO of SPIC Brasil.
Recently, Ingka Group, which owns most of the IKEA retail stores across the globe, through its investment arm Ingka Investments, has acquired ready-to-build wind and solar projects totaling 92 MW located in north-western Poland for the consideration of €190 million (~$203 million). The projects were developed by OX2, large-scale onshore wind, and solar project developer. The projects are expected to be fully operational by the end of 2024.
In March 2022, STOA, an investment fund specializing in infrastructure projects, acquired a 33% equity stake in the SSM1&2 solar projects in Brazil developed and owned by Voltalia, a renewable energy producer. The project is currently under construction and scheduled to come online in the first half of 2022. SSM1&2 are backed by five power sales contracts with an average duration of 16 years. SSM1&2 is a part of the Serra Branca cluster.
Large-scale solar project acquisition activity remained strong, with over 23 GW of solar projects acquired in Q1 2022 compared to 13.1 GW in Q4 2021, according to Mercom’s Q1 2022 solar funding and M&A report.
