Hydro Rein, Atlas Renewable Energy and Albras, a joint venture of Hydro and Nippon Amazon Aluminium, have begun operations at the 438MW Boa Sorte solar plant in Paracatu, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
The solar plant will generate 920 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to power 394,000 Brazilian households.
The Boa Sorte facility will offset 61,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year.
Hydro Rein Brazil head Marcela Jacob stated: “We are proud to reach this impressive achievement for a solar project contributing greatly to Hydro’s decarbonisation journey in Brazil. Hydro Rein’s mission is to develop renewable energy solutions for more sustainable industries. This is what we are doing with Boa Sorte.”
The renewable energy generated will be supplied to Albras, one of Brazil's largest primary aluminium producers.
It will cover 12% of the company's energy needs under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) effective from 2025 to 2044.
The project, developed by Norsk Hydro subsidiary Hydro Rein in collaboration with Atlas Renewable Energy, was completed on time and within budget.
Hydro Rein adhered to International Finance Corporation performance standards and equator principles during its development.
Albras CEO João Batista Menezes stated: “This is a significant milestone for Albras to secure our long-term strategy of greener aluminium production. With this investment, we are securing Albras' long-term energy sourcing as well as diversifying our energy matrix, and by investing in renewable sources we reinforce our commitment to be part of the solution for the green transition.
“We want to contribute to creating a fair society by producing responsibly using renewable energy.”
In March 2023, Scatec, Hydro Rein and Equinor commenced operation of the 531MW Mendubim solar plant in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
The power from Mendubim will be supplied to Alunorte, an aluminium supplier predominantly owned by Hydro, through a 20-year PPA. The agreement ensures the purchase of 60% of the plant's expected power production, with the remainder to be sold on the Brazilian power market.
