CTG Brasil powers up to meet country's higher energy needs

Technicians from China and Brazil discuss engineering plans for constructing a hydro plant by CTG Brasil. [Photo/China Daily]

CEO Li Yingsheng said CTG Brasil has a clear, long-term vision of its investments in the Latin American country.

"We will continue to analyze opportunities in clean energy that present a fair rate of return and acceptable risks," Li said.

These opportunities not only lay in hydro, but also in solar and wind power.

"We are particularly interested in participating in clean, large-scale and greenfield hydropower projects, as those are part of our DNA," Li added.

Since its launch in 2013, CTG Brasil has invested 23 billion reals ($7.27 billion) in asset acquisitions and system upgrades in Brazil.

In its most recent expansion there, it paid $1.2 billion last year to acquire the Brazilian operations of Duke Energy, with installed capacity of 2,090 megawatts.

In 2015, it won a 30-year concession to operate two major Brazilian hydroelectric projects, the Ilha Solteira and Jupia plants, for a total investment of $3.7 billion.

To date, it has built up an asset portfolio which includes 17 hydropower plants, 11 wind farms and a trading company.

Li said that with total installed capacity now of 8.27 gW, his group was Brazil's second biggest private energy generator.

The CEO said that so far his group has a very successful experience in operating its assets in the country.

"We have built a high-quality portfolio and are committed to pursuing improvements, in order to ensure that our assets can continue to play a key role in Brazil's energy matrix," Li said.

CTG Brasil said it will invest 3 billion reals to promote modernization of the Ilha Solteira and Jupia hydropower plants, which were built four decades ago. The modernization work started in March 2017.

The close relationship between China Three Gorges Corporation and Brazil started even before CTG was established in China in 1993.

Brazil's experiences in hydro plant construction inspired CTG a great deal in its initial development stage, Li said.

"Our decision to enter the Brazilian market in 2013 was based on a long-term view," he said.