BRF and AES Brasil Energia have proposed a joint venture to fund the construction of an energy self-generation wind farm complex.
The proposed facility will be located in Cajuina, Rio Grade do Norte, and will have an installed capacity of 160 million megawatts, generating 80 million megawatts to be sold to the company by means of a 15-year power purchase agreement.
BRF announced those plans on an announcement to the market on its investor relations webpage, dated August 17 and signed by Carlos Alberto Bezerra de Moura, BRF’s chief financial and investor relations officer.
The formation of the joint venture is subject to the approval of the competent authorities.
If the appropriate approvals are granted, operations of the wind farm are expected to begin by 2024.
According to the announcement, the project is aligned with the company’s 2030 Vision sustainability policy, which was revealed in December 2020, and the company’s commitment to become net zero in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.
Through the partnership between BRF and AES Brasil Energia, BRF is expected to meet about one third of its energy needs for its Brazilian operations, and move toward its goal to reach more than 50% of its energy matrix coming from renewable and clean sources by 2030.
The cost of the project is estimated at BRL5.2 million per megawatt installed, and BRF will directly invest about BRL80 million, to be disbursed during the project’s development.
The formation of the joint venture is subject to the approval of the competent authorities.
BRF stated that it will continue to pursue other opportunities to invest in alternative energy sources to help meet its sustainability goals.
BRF, formerly known as Brasil Foods, was created through the merger of Sadia and Perdiagao. The diversified animal protein producer is Brazil’s second largest broiler producer and is also involved in turkey and pork production.
During the past year, BRF slaughtered 2.19 billion broilers, according to the WATTPoultry.com Top Companies Database.
