China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) has completed the acquisition of 540 MW of renewable power plants in northeastern Brazil from Enel. The assets includes two solar power plants with a combined capacity of 450 MW - the 292 MW Nova Olinda solar power plant (in the state of Piauí) and the 158 MW Lapa solar power plant (Bahia) - and the 90 MW Cristalândia wind park (Bahia). The three projects are supported by 20-year power purchase agreements (PPAs): Nova Olinda and Lapa sell power to the Brazilian Chamber of Commercialisation of Electric Energy (Câmara de Comercialização da Energia Elétrica or CCEE), while Cristalândia is supported by 20-year PPAs with several Brazilian power distribution companies.
The Chinese government considers Brazil as a key country of the Maritime Silk Road stretching to South America. CGN will reinforce its presence in Brazil with this acquisition, which is a major step for the Belt & Road Initiative in Brazil. The group plans to expand its renewable activities from Brazil to other large South American markets such as Mexico, Argentina and Chile, before covering the whole of South America. So far, CGN is active in more than 20 countries accounting for 18% of its assets in 2018: the group holds nearly 14 GW of power projects under construction or operational, making it one of the largest Chinese energy companies in terms of overseas capacity.
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