ENGIE wins concession contracts for two hydropower plants in Brazil

Engie has bagged concession contracts worth about R$3.53bn (€950m) from the Brazilian government for two hydropower plants (HPP) with a combined capacity of 832MW.

The concession contracts for a 30-year period were awarded based on a competitive bidding held for a total of four hydropower plants by the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (ANEEL).

Engie secured contracts for the 424MW Jaguara HPP and the 408MW Miranda HPP.

The Jaguara HPP, which has a physical guarantee of 341MW, will be located in Rio Grande between Minas Gerais and São Paulo states.

Engie formed a consortium called Engie Brasil Minas Geração combining its Brazilian subsidiaries Engie Brasil Energia and Engie Brasil Energia Comercializadora for the auction. The consortium successfully bid R$1.91bn ($600m) in the second lot of ANEEL auction for the Jaguara hydroelectric plant.

On the other hand, the Miranda HPP with a physical warranty of 198.2MW will be built in Minas Gerais State at Rio Aragui in Indianápolis. Engie successfully bid R$1.11bn ($350m) in the third lot of ANEEL auction for the Miranda hydroelectric plant through the Engie Brasil Minas Geração consortium.

Engie Brazil CEO Maurício Bähr said: “These contracts are a tremendous success that represent a great growth opportunity for ENGIE, in line with the Group ambition to develop low carbon power production.

“These two plants have a strategic location for ENGIE’s growth as they are in the Southeast region where we already have other plants and activities.”

Engie reported that the two new hydropower plants would raise its installed capacity in Brazil from 10.3GW to 11.12GW.

Apart from Jaguara and Miranda HPPs, the France-based electric utility also has a stake of 40% in the 3.75GW Jirau hydropower plant, which was built at an investment of $5.3bn on the Madeira River in Rondôni state.

Image Source: ENGIE