Chinese CGN closes purchase of Atlantic Renewables Power and Energy

The China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) has signed a contract to acquire Atlantic Energias Renováveis, from the British management company Actis, calculated the value with sources with direct knowledge of the situation. A traditional operator of nuclear generation projects, CGN also operates renewable energy assets.

Atlantic is one of Actis' renewable energy vehicles in Brazil, one of the investments of a $ 1.4 billion fund launched in 2013 for ten years. The company has 642 megawatts (MW) in installed capacity through wind projects in the states of Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, Bahia and Rio Grande do Sul.

Atlantic has 60 MW in operation through two parks in Rio Grande do Norte; 180 MW in the Morrinhos Complex in Bahia; 207 MW in the Santa Vitória do Palmar Complex, in Rio Grande do Sul; and 195 MW in the Lagoa do Barro Complex, in Piauí.

The contract of sale was signed, but the operation has not yet been completed by the parties, according to sources. Before that, certain conditions precedent to the business must be fulfilled.

When completed, it will be CGN's second major acquisition of renewable energy assets in Brazil in less than a month.

On January 16, the Chinese company signed an agreement to buy three renewable generation projects from Italy's Enel, totaling 540 MW for R $ 2.9 billion - the amount that serves as a reference for the acquisition of Atlantic, according to sources. Solar parks Nova Olinda (292 MW), located in Piauí, and Lapa (158 MW) were sold in Bahia, as well as the Cristalândia wind farm (90 MW), also in Bahia.

According to information from the CGN website, based on data from the end of 2018, the company currently operates 22 nuclear power plants, with a capacity of 24.3 GW, and another six under construction with a capacity of 7.43 GW. In renewable energy, it has 11.3 GW in the wind power plant in operation and another 2.38 GW in the solar power plant. The portfolio is completed with 11.6 GW in renewable energy projects in other countries.

With the sale of Atlantic, Actis will still have two renewable investment vehicles in Brazil. Echoenergy, which invests in renewables and already has 952 MW in contracted wind projects, and Atlas Renewable Energy, focused on the solar source in Latin America.