Enerside Energy SA, a Spanish integrated solar PV platform, announced that two solar PV projects with a combined capacity of 249 MW will be built in Brazil in 2023. According to a bourse filing, the company has received a grid connection authorisation for the 207 MW Pudong I solar project in the state of Ceara. This project has already obtained the necessary environmental and construction licences, and the next steps are to finalise the funding and power purchase agreements (PPA). Enerside stated that the PPA is already being negotiated. Pudong I’s construction is anticipated to start in the second half of 2023.
Additionally, the company confirmed that it would not execute its option to sell the 42 MW Ribeiro Goncalves solar project in the Piaui state. Construction could start in the first quarter of 2023 since the project is still part of Enerside’s own portfolio. The financing for Ribeiro Goncalves was provided by the Brazilian bank Banco do Nordeste do Brasil SA. According to the filing, Enerside claimed that it is advanced in its negotiations with “one of Brazil’s largest industrial organisations” to sign a PPA. Enerside now has two projects in Brazil and Chile that total just over 270 MW that are being built or are in the ready-to-build stage. By the end of 2023, it anticipates having 330 MW in use or under construction in Spain, Chile, and Brazil.
In December 2022, Equinor made a final investment decision on the 531 MW Mendubim solar project in Brazil. Mendubim, a joint venture project between Scatec, Hydro Rein, and Equinor, is situated in Rio Grande do Norte. The project would generate about 1.2 TWh of energy annually, which is enough to power 620,000 Brazilian houses. Additionally, the development phase is expected to create more than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs.