Shell & Gerdau to develop 260 MW through JV; Berenberg to fund CCE Holding's Chilean and Italian solar projects; Definitive concession for 53 MW project in Dominican Republic; Sonnedix acquires 9 MW project in Chile.
Shell & Gerdau agree for solar JV: Shell Brasil Petroleo Ltda. and steel producer Gerdau have entered a binding agreement for the formation of a 50:50 joint venture (JV) to construct a solar power plant with around 260 MW capacity. Half of the electricity generated by the project in Minas Gerais will be used by Gerdau for its steel production units in Brazil and the remaining will be traded on the free market through Shell Energy Brasil which is the energy trader for Shell. Project will be built in 2023 once all approvals and financials are in place. For Gerdau this would enable it to produce green steel. "The partnership could enable the development of approximately 1/3 of the total capacity of the solar park. Shell will continue to seek other long-term customers – such as autoproducers, for example – to address the remaining volume of the complex," stated Shell.
German bank funds Chile and Italy projects: German private bank Berenberg will support CCE Holding's plans to acquire operational La Huella Solar Park in Chile's Atacama Desert. The 87 MW project is located near the equator. It was developed and constructed by CCE's shareholders and marks the entry of Berenberg in the Chilean market. It will also provide financing to CCE to construct 41 MW Montalto di Castro Solar Farm in Italy. CCE Holding is a joint venture of Austria's Clean Capital Energy and Germany's enernovum, along its investor Ärzteversorgung Thüringen.
Agreement for 53 MW Dominican Republic solar project: The National Energy Commission (CNE) of Dominican Republic has signed a definitive concession agreement for 53 MW Matrosil Solar Park in Cabrera, Maria Trinidad Sanchez province. The agreement was signed with President of Matrisol company. CNE said this is the 3rd definitive concession granted by the state through the CNE since the start of 2022. All such projects will add over 525 MW to the national grid. Matrisol is a special purpose vehicle of France's Akuo Energy. The 53 MW facility has a long-term corporate power purchase agreement (PPA).
Sonnedix expands PMGD portofolio in Chile: Sonnedix has completed the acquisition of a 9 MW solar power plant in Chile from Distributed Power Partners (DPP). It previously acquired Angamos and Quebrada de Talca projects from DPP. The 9 MW project is located near Copiapo in Atacama region in a well-advanced stage of development. Construction is scheduled to begin in Q2/2022. The facility will be realized under the country's special regime for distributed generation projects, called PMGD. Sonnedix has over 243 MW operational capacity in Chile and over 1 GW under construction or at various stages of development. Globally its development pipeline adds up to over 3 GW.