Suez has sold 148MW from Sao Salvador, a hydro-electric power plant to be constructed in Brazil, for E50/MWh at a recent power auction in the country. The French utility has also announced that it aims to start construction on the new plant as soon as possible.
The Sao Salvador concession was acquired by Suez in 2001 and is located on the Tocantins river, between the states of Tocantins and Goias in Brazil. The 241MW plant will be situated 80km downstream from the Cana Brava power plant, which is owned by Tractebel Energia, Suez’ subsidiary in Brazil.
Suez also announced that it hopes to begin construction work on the plant shortly.
We want to start the construction as soon as possible, in order to fulfill the obligations of the energy sales agreement with the energy distributors’ pool beginning in 2011, said Suez Energy Brazil CEO Mauricio Bahr. If the commercial operation starts before 2011, the company will sell this electricity to Tractebel Energia’s customers and to the free market.
Suez Energy International CEO Dirk Beeuwsaert added that the company’s decision to start building the new hydro plant demonstrates its interest in the Brazilian market, a region that is experiencing growing demand for electricity.