With acquisition, Paraná’s state-owned company has a total generating capacity of 6.7 GW
10/07/2022
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Daniel Slaviero — Foto: Divulgação
State-run Copel (Companhia Paranaense de Energia) has acquired the wind farms Aventura and Santa Rosa & Mundo Novo from EDP Renováveis for R$1.8 billion. In all, there are nine wind farms in operation in the municipalities of Touros and São Tomé, in Rio Grande do Norte, totaling 260.4 megawatts of installed capacity.
Of the total, the amount of R$965 million is expected to be paid via equity, and the remainder can be paid through funding or with its own money. The project has long-term financing with maturities up to 2043 contracted with Banco do Nordeste (BNB) with rates of IPCA (Brazil’s benchmark inflation index) + 2.19% per year (Aventura) and IPCA + 1.98% per year (Santa Rosa & Mundo Novo).
Most of the power generated (76.5%) was sold in auctions in the regulated environment, and 13.7% of the power generated is sold in the free market. There is still 9.8% left for new contracts.
With the acquisition, the state-owned company of Paraná has a total generating capacity of 6.7 GW, including hydro, thermal, wind, and solar. The company’s goal is to have a more diversified portfolio, reducing exposure to hydrological risk. The operation will be carried out by Copel GeT, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company.
CEO Daniel Slaviero highlighted the strategic location of the farms and the importance of acquiring an operational asset for the business. According to him, the company consolidates its presence in Rio Grande do Norte and increases its wind generation capacity by 28%, thus reaching 1.2GW of wind generation in its portfolio.
“The acquisition achieves a major strategic goal, which is to recompose the EBITDA with the sale of Copel Telecom to focus on the power business. The largest investment plan is focused on Copel Distribuição, but the company has the muscles to make those acquisitions in power generation” and “brings what matters most, which is a double-digit return,” he said.
Cássio Santana da Silva, the company’s chief business development officer, said that with the EBITDA plan the company reaches a turning point and will start to analyze closely greenfield assets, which “despite having more risks, bring higher returns.”
In the view of Marcelo Sá, a utility analyst at Itaú BBA, the management team has done an important job by improving efficiency, selling non-strategic assets, implementing governance improvements, and acquiring the Vilas wind farm in 2021.
“The company now has a clear dividend policy, in addition to control mechanisms such as investment committees, which reduce the risk of capital allocation. The growth strategy focused on M&A is the most appropriate, with much lower execution risk, since the current moment is challenging for the development of new renewable projects, given the increase in Capex costs and the drop in power prices,” he said.
*By Robson Rodrigues — São Paulo
Source: Valor International