766 MW Brazilian Solar Farm Starting To Come Online

One Of Latin America’s Largest Planned Solar Facilities, Vale’s 766 MW Sol Do Cerrado Solar Power Plant Partially Online

766 MW Brazilian Solar Farm Starting To Come Online

Vale says the 766 MW Sol do Cerrado Solar Power Plant (in the picture) that has now partially come online, is important for the company as it targets to achieve 100% electricity consumption in Brazil by 2025 and globally by 2030. (Photo Credit: Vale)

  • Vale has commissioned 4 sub-parks of 17 that made up 766 MW Sol do Cerrado Solar Power Plant in Brazil
  • It is scheduled to be completely online in July 2023 and will be equipped with 1.4 million solar panels and Nextracker trackers
  • Once commissioned fully, the project will account for 16% of all power that Vale consumes in Brazil for its mining activities

Brazilian metals and mining company Vale SA has commissioned part of what it terms as as one of the largest solar energy plants in Latin America with 766 MW capacity; on completion it will account for 16% of all power consumed by the mining giant in Brazil.

Vale has energized 4 sub-parks out of 17 that will make up the Sol do Cerrado Solar Power Plant in Jaíba municipality of Northern Minas Gerais. The project has been under construction since January 2021 and has created around 3,000 jobs during peak activities.

It is scheduled to come online completely in July 2023 occupying land equivalent to around 1,300 soccer fields. The project will be equipped with 1.4 million solar panels, 10.2 million meters of cables to transport power, and NX Horizon bifacially optimized trackers from America’s Nextracker (see Latin America PV News Snippets).

Vale said the project is an important step in achieving its climate goals of cutting down net carbon emissions by 33% by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050. The miner eventually aims for renewables to account for 100% of its electricity consumption in Brazil by 2025, and globally by 2030.

“Sol do Cerrado is a unique project for Vale, which is providing local development and renewable energy. It is linked to our goal of being leaders in sustainable mining,” said Vale CEO Eduardo Bartolomeo.

Earlier this year, Macquarie Asset Management’s Green Investment Group (GIG) joined hands with Norway’s Hydro Rein to co-develop a 586 MW wind and solar project in Brazil to power Norsk Hydro’s bauxite mine and alumina refinery (see 586 MW Wind & Solar Power Project In Brazil).

About The Author

Anu Bhambhani

SENIOR NEWS EDITOR Anu is our solar news whirlwind. At TaiyangNews, she covers everything that is of importance in the world of solar power. In the past 9 years that she has been associated with TaiyangNews, she has covered over thousands of stories, and analysis pieces on markets, technology, financials, and more on a daily basis. She also hosts TaiyangNews Conferences and Webinars. Prior to joining TaiyangNews, Anu reported on sustainability, management, and education for leading print dailies in India. [email protected]

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