Hydro Rein and GIG’s 500MW-plus wind-solar hybrid to power Brazilian bauxite and aluminium

Norwegian renewables developer Hydro Rein and asset manager Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) have agreed to form a joint venture to develop a 586MW wind and solar project in north-east Brazil.

The partners plan for their project to use 80 wind turbines with a combined capacity of 456MW – indicating a planned turbine power rating of 5.7MW – in the first phase, and may add up to 130MW of solar power capacity in the second phase.

Power from the project will be used to supply 100% of the electricity needed for Hydro Rein parent company-Hydro’s bauxite mine in Paragominas and will reduce carbon emissions from its aluminium refinery in Alunorte by enabling replacement of coal towards 2030. The bauxite mine and aluminium plant will be the sole off-takers from the wind-solar hybrid project.

Parent company Hydro aims to reduce its carbon emissions by 30% by 2030 from a 2019 baseline.

Hydro Rein expects to take a final investment decision for the $700 million wind farm in the fourth quarter of 2022, final investment decision for the solar project at a later stage.

It expects to commission the wind farm in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Hydro Rein will own 49.9% of the wider project, while GIG will own 50.1%. The partners will split financing costs in line with this ownership structure.