Atlas Renewable Energy inaugurates today its first operational project in Brazil, the São Pedro solar plant. Construction began in 2017 in Bom Jesus da Lapa, state of Bahia, and the plant has an installed capacity of 67.1MW in two sub-plants. The financing of the plant was secured through the Banco do Nordeste, supported by an equivalent sum of commercial bank guarantees from BTG Pactual, Banco ABC Brasil, and Banco Bradesco.
The São Pedro Solar Project was contracted under a 20-year power purchase agreement with the Chamber of Electricity Commercialization, through the government's energy auction in 2015. The plant's 204,120 modules span over 150 hectares and are projected to generate 150GWh annually, which can light up roughly 82,000 homes per year, and reduce the emission of more than 61,125 tons of carbon dioxide, according to the company's own calculations.
As part of Atlas Renewable Energy's commitment to work with local communities during the construction, development, and operational phases of their plants, the São Pedro project created 696 direct jobs, while working with seven different rural communities. In addition, Atlas Renewable Energy offered community members educational and professional development programs including apiculture training, cultural relevance, and built two nursery gardens in local schools. These combined programs reached a total of more than 1,500 people in the local community.
Luis Pita, Atlas Renewable Energy's General Manager for Brazil explained, "Atlas Renewable Energy's success in Brazil is attributed to three key factors: our commitment to the Brazilian market, where in just two years Atlas Renewable Energy has established itself as the second largest player in the Brazilian solar energy industry; our dedication to the growth of the local communities where we operate, where we offer local services based on their needs allowing us to support their development; and the third aspect is the transfer of technologies, where we aim to raise the bar in the industry by providing our engineers with the knowledge of the most advanced technologies, and ways to implement them in our plants. We aim to continue growing and expanding throughout the region and will always bring our standard of excellence to every project we develop."
