Country for PR: United States
Contributor: PR Newswire New York
Wednesday, July 01 2020 - 09:00
AsiaNet
Atlas Renewable Energy and Dow announce the signing of a Solar Energy PPA in Brazil
SÃO PAULO, July 1, 2020 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

-- Atlas Renewable Energy's – Jacarandá Solar Plant will have an installed 
capacity of 187MWp and will provide clean, renewable energy to Dow's Aratu Site 
in the State of Bahía

Atlas Renewable Energy ( https://www.atlasrenewableenergy.com/en/ ), a leading 
renewable energy company in Latin America along with the American material 
science multinational company Dow (NYSE: DOW) announced today the signing of a 
large-scale solar energy contract in Brazil. The clean energy supply will be 
through the Jacaranda photovoltaic solar plant, located in Juazeiro, the State 
of Bahía, and is expected to supply over 440GWh per year that will mostly be 
used to serve Dow under a 15-year duration contract, with offtake starting in 
the first half of 2021.

The Jacaranda solar plant will have an installed capacity of 187MWp with more 
than 450,000 modules. The plant will generate enough energy to supply a sizable 
part of Dow's Aratu Site's energy needs. According to the average consumption 
of a Brazilian family, the amount of energy generated will be equivalent to 
supply enough power to a city of +750,000 inhabitants. Furthermore, the plant 
will avoid an approximate of 35,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year based 
on the GHG (Green House Gases) Protocol, methodology developed by the World 
Resources Institute which follows the methods used by the IPCC 
(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and it is aligned with Dow's Global 
Emissions Inventory. This amount of avoided CO2 emission could be compared to 
removing 36,800 vehicles ( https://calculadora.eccaplan.com.br/ ) from the 
streets of São Paulo.

This contract to secure renewable power capacity contributes to achieving one 
of Dow's 2025 Sustainability Goals, a commitment to obtain 750 MW of its power 
demand from renewable sources by 2025. Dow also recently announced additional 
Carbon Reduction Goals, which aim to reduce Dow's net annual emissions by 15% 
from 2020 to 2030, representing a reduction of 5 million tons of CO2 in the 
next ten years and another significant step toward reaching carbon neutrality 
by 2050. Currently, Dow is the number one user of clean energy in the chemical 
industry and among the top 25 global corporations for renewable power use (BNEF 
ranking), with contracts for wind, solar, hydro, biomass and landfill gas.

The Jacarandá solar plant will be developed, built and operated by Atlas 
Renewable Energy, whose track record and expertise in Latin America has 
positioned the company as an essential player in the renewable energy sector in 
the region. The company also keeps expanding its footprint in the Brazilian 
market, where it has established itself with three more operating plants in the 
State of Bahia and another plant in the State of Ceará: São Pedro (67MW), 
Sertão Solar Barreiras (117 MW), Eng. Manoel de Andrade, previously known as 
Juazeiro (167MW) and Sol do Futuro (81 MW). 

The Jacarandá project will be neighboring the Eng. Manoel de Andrade solar 
plant and will make use of its digital substation, a breakthrough innovation, 
first-of-its-kind in the Brazilian solar industry, introduced by Atlas 
Renewable Energy in 2019. Furthermore, the Jacarandá project will host 
bi-facial module technology, a major cutting-edge technology in solar energy. 
These innovative solar panels use the reflection of the sun's rays from their 
front and back sides, increasing the efficiency of the photoelectric 
conversion, therefore enhancing the overall efficiency of the plant.

As part of Atlas Renewable Energy's commitment to the State of Bahía, the 
Jacarandá plant's construction will develop programs to bolster local 
communities' overall wellbeing. The project will provide training and 
employment focused on creating new skills for locals. It will also advocate for 
gender equality by implementing the program: "We are all part of the same 
energy" developed by Atlas Renewable Energy. This program focuses on the 
promotion of inclusive practices by empowering the local female workforce 
through training that will enhance or create new skills. This will allow local 
women to have access to new job opportunities within the project and uplift 
their skillsets and potential by integrating them into more specialized jobs. 
Thanks to this program the company is expecting to hire 3 to 4 times more women 
than the female workforce usually hired during the construction of solar 
projects in Brazil. In addition, the execution of the Jacarandá project is 
expected to have a maximum of 1,200 workers, of which a 70% is expected to be 
from local workforce. 

"Dow is pleased to partner with leading clean power producers like Atlas 
Renewable Energy as we work to reduce our emission intensity and support 
projects that add greater renewable contribution and diversity to the 
grid/matrix," said Claudia Schaeffer, Dow's global business director for Energy 
& Climate Change. "In addition to our passion for a lower carbon future, our 
companies share a commitment to ESG (Environmental Social and Governance) 
principles that encourage economic growth and social development for the 
communities where we operate." 

Carlos Barrera, Atlas Renewable Energy CEO mentioned: "Atlas is positioning 
itself as the right partner for large consumers in Latin America to serve them 
with clean energy and help lower their carbon footprints and reduce their 
costs. Our aim is to create competitive clean energy solutions for our clients 
by developing and implementing new, world-class renewable energy projects, all 
while acting responsibly with local communities. We look forward to continue 
supporting Dow, and other energy users across Brazil and Latin America to 
reduce their carbon footprints while reducing their electricity bill."

Luis Pita, General Manager of Atlas Renewable Energy for Brazil, emphasized: 
"We aim to continue to boost the thriving bilateral market in Brazil by 
implementing top-of-the-line solutions with novel technology and the 
highest-in-class sustainability standards in all our projects. It is an honor 
for us to partner with Dow, a leader in its sector that stands out for its 
ambitious sustainable approach in operations and culture." He also added: "We 
are also breaking ground in this project by implementing our program "We´re all 
part of the same energy", centered in the inclusion and promotion of qualified 
female labor force, through the development of training programs and the 
application of the learnings during the construction and operational phase of 
the plant. This will definitely help promote and integrate female workforce in 
the region."

Luiz Ballester, Commercial Director for Atlas Renewable Energy in Brazil, also 
commented: "Signing a corporate or bilateral PPA is usually an intricate and 
detailed process where many variables come to play. Our expertise in the matter 
and financial capabilities have proven to be a major differentiator for 
sophisticated large energy consumers, like Dow, when implementing clean energy 
solutions from development to full operation. Our strong know-how and 
bankability allow us to provide an all-encompassing service - we believe in 
creating a personalized and tailor-made solution that can effectively maximize 
each client's goals while ensuring predictability and long-term commitment."

About Atlas Renewable Energy

Atlas Renewable Energy is a renewable energy generation company that develops, 
builds, and operates renewable energy projects with long-term energy contracts 
across Latin America. The current company portfolio is 2GW of contracted 
projects in development, construction, or operational stages, and aims to 
expand by an additional 4GW in the next years.

Launched in early 2017, Atlas Renewable Energy includes an experienced team 
with the longest track record in the solar energy industry in Latin America. 
The company is recognized for its high standards in the development, 
construction, and operation of large-scale projects.

Atlas Renewable Energy is part of the Energy Fund IV, founded by Actis, a 
leading private equity investor in the energy sector of emerging markets. Atlas 
Renewable Energy's growth is focused on the leading emerging markets and 
economies of Latin America, using its proven development, commercialization, 
and structuring know-how to bring clean energy to the region. By actively 
engaging with the community and stakeholders at the center of its project 
strategy, the company works every day to provide Latin America with a cleaner 
future.

To know more about Atlas Renewable Energy, visit: 
https://www.atlasrenewableenergy.com/

About Dow

Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines global breadth, asset integration and scale, focused 
innovation and leading business positions to achieve profitable growth. The 
Company's ambition is to become the most innovative, customer centric, 
inclusive and sustainable materials science company. Dow's portfolio of 
plastics, industrial intermediates, coatings and silicones businesses delivers 
a broad range of differentiated science-based products and solutions for its 
customers in high-growth market segments, such as packaging, infrastructure and 
consumer care. Dow operates 109 manufacturing sites in 31 countries and employs 
approximately 36,500 people. Dow delivered sales of approximately $43 billion 
in 2019. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries. 
For more information, please visit http://www.dow.com or follow @DowNewsroom on 
Twitter.

Media Contacts
Atlas Renewable Energy
JeffreyGroup
Rejane Rodrigues – rrodrigues@jeffreygroup.com  
Vinícius Araújo – varaujo@jeffreygroup.com 
Eduardo Gaggini – egaggini@jeffreygroup.com

Dow
Oribá Comunicação
Anna Brom – anna@oribacomunicacao.com.br
Júlia Meriqui – julia@oribacomunicacao.com.br
Nayme Bizaio – nayme@oribacomunicacao.com.br 
+55 (11) 4106-5944

SOURCE: Atlas Renewable Energy
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