Ado Popinhaki Small Hydro Power Plant

Active

In June 2014, the Brazilian company Companhia Energetica Canoas (CEC), a partnership of Ritmo Energia (57%), Pattac Empreendimentos e Participacoes (19%), Servinoga SL (19%) and a small local investor (5%), was granted the 35-year contract to build and operate the Ado Popinhak Small Hydro Power Plant (19.3 MW), located at the municipality of Curitibanos, state of Santa Catarina (Canoas River). The power plant was named PCH Ado Popinhak. In December 2013, the company had been granted power purchase agreements to sell electricity to distribution companies starting in 2018. The company presented a winning bid of US$ 57.7/MWh (BRL 135,9/MWh). The investment committed to the power plant was estimated at US$ 28.7 million (BRL 99 million). In 2014, PCH Ado Popinhak was awarded an environmental license to commence the constructions. Construction works commenced in May 2016 and were in its final stages as of June 2017. Financial closure was achieved in March 2017, when a US$ 18.9 million (BRL 60 million) 1-year-6-month term loan was provided by the Brazilian bank Itau. The remaining cost was equity financed. The company was granted the right to take part in the government program called Regime Especial de Incentivos para o Desenvolvimento da Infra-Estrutura (Reidi). Companies selected to take part in this program were given tax cuts in the acquisition of capital equipment and construction material acquired both in the domestic and international markets (this incentive represented a cost reduction of about 9.25%). In addition, the company was allowed to use accelerated depreciation methods of accounting for construction expenditures.