Voltalia starts construction of world’s largest solar project in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – French power company Voltalia this month began the construction of the 320-megawatt Solar Serra do Mel 1 (SSM 1) and Solar Serra do Mel 2 (SSM 2) plants in Rio Grande do Norte state, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

The plants are part of Serra Branca, the world’s largest wind and solar complex, with a total capacity of 2.4 GW with wind farms in operation and hundreds of megawatts under development.

Commissioning is expected to occur in the first half of 2022. The SSM 1 and SSM 2 projects hold 5 long-term sales contracts, including with Copel (CPLE3) and Braskem (BRKM5).

Serra Branca is a hybrid cluster located between the municipalities of Areia Branca and Serra do Mel, a region known for concentrating optimal wind and solar conditions.

“The two energy sources are complementary, since wind production occurs mainly at night. Thus, we intend to use the synergy of sources and share the same energy flow structure to develop more competitive and profitable projects,” said in a statement Voltalia’s CEO in Brazil Robert Klein.