Voltalia to Invest $800 Million in Brazil With Focus on Solar

French clean-power producer Voltalia SA plans to invest 4 billion reais ($800 million) in Brazil over the next four years to ramp up renewable energy in Latin America’s largest economy.

(Bloomberg) — French clean-power producer Voltalia SA plans to invest 4 billion reais ($800 million) in Brazil over the next four years to ramp up renewable energy in Latin America’s largest economy.

Most of the investment will be made by Helexia SA, a subsidiary of Voltalia, to build out a combined 400 megawatts of small-scale solar projects across Brazil over the next two years that are eligible for subsidies, Aurelien Maudonnet, the head of Helexia in Brazil, said in an interview. Voltalia also has onshore wind operations in the country.

Brazil’s solar industry has surged in recent years thanks in part to an incentive that gives solar projects of up to 5 megawatts tariff-free access to the grid, as long as they applied to connect before a Jan. 7 cutoff. Maudonnet said the growth is likely to continue thanks to the subsidies. 

“This is why you have a huge ramp up: Everybody wants to benefit from the old rule,” Maudonnet. said “We have at least two more years of huge increases.” 

One of Helexia’s main clients for solar energy is telecommunications provider Vivo Participacoes SA. 

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