Luzboa Small Hydro Power Plants BRA-Minas Gerais I (Phase I)

Active

In August 2009, Luzboa S.A, a private firm was developing a portfolio of four small run of the river hydroelectric plants in the state of Minas Gerais through a license granted by Brazilian federal regulator Aneel. The first two plants to reach financial closure were PCH Oliveira [2.88MW] in the municpality of Oliveira and PCH Couro do Cervo [1.5MW] in the municipality of Nepomuceno. These two units will be responsible for the reduction of about 90,000 tonnes of CO2 for the period in which energy is already sold, contributing to the development of the State of Minas Gerais. Luzboa SA was owned by investment firms from the Virgin Islands and Brazil. The total project cost was estimated at BRL 12.1 million (US $6.9 million) for Oliveira and BRL 6.4 million (US $3.6 million) for Couro do Cervo. The projects reached financial closure in January 2010 when Luzboa SA signed loans with the state-owned local bank BDMG, acting through a program of BNDES. The loan amounts for Oliveira and PCH Couro do Cervo were BRL 7.6 million (US $4.3 million)and BRL 4.5 million (US $2.6 million) respectively. In July 2010, PCH Oliveira commenced operations. In November 2011, the regulatory agency Aneel rejected the design project for PCH Couro do Cervo and the project was tagged as not active.