The Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (Brazilian Development Bank or BNDES) has approved the loan financing of about BRL97.1 million (US$23.4 million) for the development of a biogas power plant in Sao Paulo.
The funding is granted to the local sugar and ethanol producing company Cocal Energia for its project in the Municipality of Narandiba. The facility will use materials such as sugarcane straw, filter cake, and vinasse as raw material to produce biomethane and energy. The project is expected to produce 33 million cubic meters per year of biogas with half of it intended for electricity generation. The biomethane produced will serve as fuel for Cocal's fleet of vehicles and for Petrobras-owned natural gas distributor Gas Brasiliano.
The loan financing granted will cover about 69% of the total project investment of BRL139.7 million (US$32.40 million). The Climate Fund has contributed about BRL30 million (US$6.94 million) in the funding.
