Voltalia SA has started the construction of the SSM1&2, a 320-megawatt solar project including 50 megawatts of additional capacity located in the state of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil.
The SSM1&2 solar project is backed by five long-term power-sales contracts with an average maturity of 16 years for a total capacity of 320 megawatts. The project has signed with a series of energy buyers, including a corporate power purchase agreement (PPA) with Braskem, a petrochemical company, and a utility PPA with Copel, a long-term partner of Voltalia.
When it will be commissioned during the first half of 2022, SSM1&2 will become Voltalia’s largest solar project worldwide.
SSM1&2 is part of the Serra Branca cluster, located in the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Norte. Historically a cluster of wind farms, with record high production levels (load factor consistently above 50% allowing to generate one the country’s most competitive energy), Serra Branca is now a combined wind-and-solar cluster, benefitting from common infrastructures and operating synergies. The two sources of power are complementary since wind is blowing mainly during the night at Serra Branca.