Canadian Solar has recently signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with BTG Pactual in Brazil. It has also won contract for two projects in a private auction by Furnas Centrais Eletricas for 862 MWp in solar power projects in Brazil.
Canadian Solar will supply series 7 bifacial modules of up to 665 Wp.
For the 12-year PPA with BTG, Canadian Solar will supply solar energy from a 170 MWp cluster of projects located in the State of Minas Gerais. The projects will start construction in 2021 and are expected to achieve commercial operation by the end of 2022. BTG is one of the main investment banks in Latin America and runs one of the largest energy trading businesses in Brazil.
Furnas will purchase solar energy from two Canadian Solar projects through a 15-year PPA. Canadian Solar will develop and build both Furnas projects totalling 692 MWp. One of them will be located in the State of Ceara and will have a capacity of 260 MWp. The second project is located in the State of Piuaí and will have a capacity of 432 MWp. Both projects will start construction in 2022 and are expected to reach commercial operation by the end of 2023.
Furnas is a majority-controlled subsidiary of Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras. Furnas’ business is mainly in energy generation, transmission and sales. It operates in 16 Brazilian states and is the owner of 21 hydro plants, 2 thermal plants, 1 wind farm and 30,000 kilometers of transmission lines.
“After the 274 MWp in corporate PPAs that we signed earlier in June, the volume of projects secured in this PPA and auction is the largest in Canadian Solar’s history. It increases our backlog of solar projects in Brazil with PPAs (or equivalent) to almost 2.2 GWp,” Canadian Solar CEO Shawn Qu said.
Canadian Solar said it is in the process of forming a Brazilian Participation Fund for Infrastructure projects, or FIP-IE, which is on track to launch in 2021.