Braskem and Voltalia close a 20-year deal to purchase solar energy

Braskem announces another important step in their sustainable development strategy and closed a deal with the French multinational Voltalia to purchase solar energy for their industrial units in Brazil. Braskem undertakes to purchase solar energy for 20 years, adding competitive energy to their portfolio and investing in a clean and sustainable energy matrix. The company will reduce the CO2 emissions in 130 thousand tons throughout the contract period.

The deal will also make feasible the expansion of the solar complex “Serra do Mel” in the State of Rio Grande do Norte. Voltalia’s “Serra do Mel 1 & 2” projects won the 30th New Energy Auction (A-6) held in October 2019 by the Electricity Trade Chamber (CCEE – Câmara de Comercialização de Energia Elétrica). In addition to the 32 MW winning the auction, Voltalia also negotiated contracts in the Free Energy Market with many purchasers, including Braskem. With these deals, the “Serra do Mel” Solar Complex capacity will reach 270 MW, enough to serve a city with 1 million inhabitants.

“Our partnership with Voltalia reaffirms our commitment with sustainable development, expanding the utilization of renewable energy in our operation. Worth to mention the importance of long-term contracts that offer great competitive potential to the business, maximizing their benefits to everyone involved”, says Gustavo Checcucci, Energy Director of Braskem.

“I am pleased to announce our first contract with Braskem to sell renewable energy. The companies are showing more and more interest in purchasing directly clean energy, for both sustainability and economic reasons. Many renewable energy projects are feasible thanks to corporate PPAs (Power Purchase Agreement), which is excellent news. This way, Voltalia is making feasible their first large-size solar farm in the Serra Branca cluster, in Rio Grande do Norte, where we combine wind and solar energy in the same location, says Robert Klein – CEO of Voltalia Brasil.

Voltalia presence in Brazil
More recently, the company expanded their geographic presence in other States, such as Minas Gerais, with the Cabuí hydroelectric project (16 MW, sold in the auction of October 2019); and a new wind farm in Canudos – Bahia (90 MW made feasible in 2019), with potential to be the new conglomerate of the company with 1 GW of energy potential.

Renewable Energy in Braskem

In December 2019, investing in the diversification of their energy matrix, Braskem opened a solar-based distributed generation plant in Bahia. The plant provides 35% of the energy used in Braskem’s administrative office in Salvador, where approximately 400 people work. In November 2018, Braskem signed a long-term commitment to purchase renewable energy for 20 years, also in Bahia. The contract made possible the expansion of a wind power complex in the city of Campo Formoso, 350 km northwest of Salvador, placing Bahia among the industry leaders for the next years.

About Voltalia

Voltalia is an international player in the renewable energy sector. They produce and sell energy generated from wind, solar, hydraulic, biomass and storage installations they own and operate. Voltalia has generation capacity in operation and under construction of more than 1 GW and a portfolio of projects under development representing a total capacity of 7.1 GW. In addition, they also provide services and support their investor clients in renewable energy projects in all phases, from project to operation and maintenance.

As a pioneer in the corporate market, Voltalia has a global offer for private companies, from the supply of clean energy and energy efficiency services to local production of their own electricity. The Group has more than 791 employees, with presence in 20 countries and may act throughout the world on behalf of their clients. Voltalia is listed in the Euronext Paris stock Exchange and is part of the Enternext Indexes: Tech 40 and CAC Mid & Small. The Group is also included in the Gaïa Index, an index for socially responsible midcaps.