Lajari Small Hydro Power Plant

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In August 2015, the Brazilian company Lajari Energetica S.A., a partnership of the Brazilian companies LLV Empreendimentos (75%) and RER Empreendimentos (25%), was granted the 35-year contract to build and operate the Lajari Small Hydro Power Plant (20.8 MW total capacity), located at the municipality of Alto Taquari, state of Mato Grosso (Taquari River). The power plant was named PCH Lajari. In November 2014, the company had been granted power purchase agreements to sell electricity to distribution companies starting in 2019. The company presented a winning bid of US$ 68.4/MWh (BRL 160.9/MWh). The investment committed to the power plant was estimated at US$ 34.8 million (BRL 110.7 million). Financial closure was achieved in January 2017, when the sponsor was granted a US$ 22.8 million (BRL 72.6 million) loan from the Brazilian bank BNDES. The remaining investment cost was financed with the sponsor's equity. Commercial operations were expected to commence in December 2018. 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.