Serra dos Cavalinhos I Small Hydro Power Plant

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In January 2014, the Brazilian company Serra dos Cavalinhos I Energetica S.A., a subsidiary of Brookfield Energia Renovável S.A, was granted the 30-year contract to build and operate the Serra dos Cavalinhos I Small Hydro Power Plant (25 MW), located at the municipalities of Monte Alegre dos Campos and Sao Francisco de Paula, state of Rio Grande do Sul (Antas River). The power plant was named PCH Serra dos Cavalinhos I. In April 2015, the company had been granted power purchase agreements to sell electricity to distribution companies starting in 2020. The company presented a winning bid of US$ 61.9/MWh (BRL 206.48/MWh). The investment committed to the power plant was estimated at US$ 65.8 million (BRL 219.6 million). Construction works commenced in March 2015 and were in its final stages as of June 2017. Financing information was not available. 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.