Santa Rosa II Hydroelectric Plant

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In April 2006, Brazilian Engevix Engenharia SA acquired a greenfield contract to build own and operate the Santa Rosa II hydroelectric plant in Rio de Janeiro State from France's SIIF. It was originally awarded by Aneel, Brazil’s power regulator, and the government of Rio de Janeiro state in 2002. The contract included a 20 year power purchasing agreement (ppa) to Electrobras, the Brazilian federal power holding company. The Santa Rosa hydroelectric plant was to be located between the cities of Bom Jardim and Cordeiro and had a capacity of 30 megawatts. In addition to the plant, a 69 kV transmission line with a six km extension was to be constructed. Santa Rosa SA was a Specific Purpose Enterprise (SPE) created by Engevix SA to construct and explore commercially the hydroelectric plant Santa Rosa II. Engevix SA specialized in engineering and project management in the following sectors: electric energy, gas, oil, steel, waste and water. The project required investment of US $50 million (108 million real) and reached financial closure in October, 2006 when Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social (BNDES), the Brazilian national development bank, approved a US $37 million (80 million real) loan to finance the project. The remaining US $17 million (28 million real) was to be financed directly by Santa Rosa S/A. The BNDES financing was granted under the federal government’s renewable power incentive program, Proinfa. Proinfra was created by the Brazilian ministry of mines and energy to diversify Brazilian energy supply and expand its capacity by 3.3 thousand megawatts. Construction began in March 2006 and had an expected completion date of December 2007.