ITOCHU Corporation and Bunge Limited have begun production of bioethanol through a joint venture company, Pedro Afonso Açúcar e Bioenergia, located in Tocantins, Northern Brazil. Bunge owns 80% of this joint venture. ITOCHU is investing a total of about USD 800 million into two facilities for the production of bioethanol, the second one being in Minas Gerais, in the south east of the country.
A new venture formed in Brazil, Sistema de Energia Renovavel (SER), has plans to build a total of 600 MW of new solar power capacity by 2020. This would represent quite a big development, since the country's current solar capacity is virtually non-existent due to high prices of equipment. SER exepcts the new capacity to be competitively priced against other electricity sources within the next six years.
ABB has been awarded an USD 80 million contract to expand transmission capacity for the Itaipu hydropower project on the Parana river in Brazil. The contract has been awarded by Itaipu Binacional, the company which operates the power plant. ABB is to build a substation Paraguay, and also expand the existing installation. Project construction began in September of 2010, with work being executed by Abengoa owned Abener and Teyma, companies specialized in construction.
Gamesa has begun production at the company's newly completed naceller production facility in the state of Bahia, Brazil. The facility, located in Camacari, has 400 MW of annual production capacity, and employs about 100 people. It will produce nacelles for the G9X and G8X family of wind turbines, with 2 MW of capacity. As much as 60% of the production components are sourced locally, engaging the local industry and community.
Earth Heat Resources has completed the environmental impact study for the Copahue geothermal project, which the company is planning to develop in Argentina. The study was completed by SKM, and has been submitted to the Argentian authorities for review. This EIA is going to help both the company and the authorities to determine whether there are any major issues and the corresponding mechanisms for minimizing the impact of project activities on the environment.
Vestas announced two orders for wind turbines coming from Brazil and Mexico, toalling in 89 MW of capacity (30 V100 2 MW units, and 16 V90 1.8 MW units).
Mustang Geothermal announced the company has begun exploration activities at the Condoroma Project, located in southern Peru. The location is part of the Condoroma-Chaquelles concession, which has significant geothermal potential, and is also nearby to mojor commercial mining operations. This is a good setup for securing power purchase agreements, since the nearby power consumers, mostly the mining industry, are all in need of a steady clean power source.
Alstom announced a contract to build three wind farms and provide service and maintenance for the installed wind turbines, in Brazil. The customer, Brasventos S.A., a JV comprised of three companies – J. Malucelli Energia (51%), Eletrobras Eletronorte (24,5%) and Eletrobras Furnas (24,5%) – is developing three wind farms in Rio Grande do Norte State (northeast Brazil). The total forecasted annual electrical energy production is about 580 GWh, equivalent to the annual consumption of about 100,000 average households.
Abengoa announced the company will be building a concetrated solar power project in Chile, its first in this South American country. The project will use Abengoa's parabolic trough technology, and will be located in the Atacama Desert. This is one of the most arid placs on Earth, but also one of the best locations on the whole planet in terms of levels of solar radiation. The new power plant represents an investment of about USD 12 million, and will produce heat for the production processes of Minera El Tesoro, a mining subsidiary of Antofagasta Minerals, a Chilean company.
Shell and Cosan announced the launch of their multi-billion dollar joint venture which will produce low-carbon biofuel. The main product to be produced and distribute will be ethanol, which is the lowest-carbon biofuel commercially available on the market. The production will rely on the supply of Brazilian sugar cane as the source of material for ethanol production.
