Luxembourg steel and mining firm ArcelorMittal’s Brazilian subsidiary will form a JV with Casa dos Ventos, one of Brazil’s largest renewables developers.
The companies will develop a 554MW wind power project, the Babilonia wind farm, valued at around $800 million.
The JV will be equity accounted, and ArcelorMittal Brazil’s total equity investment will be some $150 million.
The JV’s ownership structure is:
ArcelorMittal Brazil – 55%
Casa dos Ventos – 45%
The transaction forming the partnership was approved by Brazil’s antitrust authority CADE on 13 April 2023, and it will be completed within the next 15 days.
The Babilonia project will be located in the central part of Bahia state in northeast Brazil. The wind farm is in the environmental and regulatory permitting stage, with construction scheduled to start next year (2024).
The project is set to become operational in 2025, already having a 20-year PPA in place with the JV for the electricity supply.
Aditya Mittal, chief executive of ArcelorMittal, said: “As we expand our presence and add value to our Brazilian franchise, we are conscious of the responsibility we have to decarbonise our operations. By collaborating with a respected energy transition operator in Casa dos Ventos, we can take advantage of the favourable Brazilian climate for renewable energy generation and make faster progress towards our climate targets.”