Green Investment Group (GIG), a Macquarie-owned company, and Hydro Rein have agreed to form a joint venture to build and operate a 586 MW wind and solar power plant in Brazil’s northeast. The wind and solar hybrid project, named Feijo, will be developed in the Brazilian states of Piaui and Pernambuco. Feijo will be equipped with 80 wind turbines by Nordex, a wind turbine manufacturer.
The first phase of the project would include the construction of a 456 MW wind farm, while the second phase will include the construction of a 130 MW solar power facility. It is expected that the hybrid project would cost $700 million to develop. GIG’s Renewable Energy Fund II will be the project’s majority owner, with a 50.1 per cent stake, while Hydro Rein will own the remaining 49.9 per cent. Under a power purchase agreement, the plant’s clean energy will be supplied to Hydro Rein’s bauxite mine Paragominas and alumina refinery Alunorte once it is operational.
In February 2022, Agder Energi partnered with GIG to bid for a floating offshore wind project in the North Sea’s Utsira Nord zone. The Utsira Nord zone, with a capacity of 1.5 GW, is one of two regions where the Norwegian government has solicited license applications. With a combined shareholding of 54.47 per cent, 25 Norwegian municipalities own the majority of Agder Energi. Statkraft owns the balance of the utility.
REGlobal’s Views: As renewable energy penetration in the grid increases, blending and hybridising of two or more energy sources is gaining traction to address the issue of intermittency due to the variable generation patterns of wind and solar power. This helps to ensure more stable generation output and a balanced grid.
