Atlas Renewable Energy and Votorantim Cimentos have signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to supply and purchase, respectively, 100 MW of solar energy for the next 15 years.
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The solar energy provided through this agreement will support the energy needs of Votorantim Cimentos' production units and distribution centers located in the South, Southeast, and Midwest regions of Brazil.
With the new partnership, the project will be responsible for around a third of Votorantim Cimentos' energy consumption in the country, equivalent to supplying energy to 424,000 homes.
Through the self-production PPA, the company is advancing its decarbonization strategy, which includes renewable energy as one of its strategic pillars.
The new energy generation will come from Atlas' Luiz Carlos Solar Project, located in the municipality of Paracatu, Minas Gerais, which will have an installed capacity of 787 MWp, of which almost two-thirds (470 MWp) will be destined for Votorantim Cimentos.
The Luiz Carlos solar project will be located in Paracatu, Minas Gerais, a municipality that is already home to other Atlas solar projects, which will allow the company to continue investing in the development of the region, in environmental and social terms, with an emphasis on hiring local labor.
With the start of construction, Atlas will actively support robust environmental, social, and governance (ESG) programs for sustainable development. Atlas' flagship program,
"We are all part of the same energy," during the construction of the Boa Sorte Solar Project, located in the same municipality, trained over 300 women from surrounding towns to contribute to the construction of the solar plants.
Additionally, Atlas's award-winning Ed-Mundo program will also be implemented.
The program is designed to educate young students from underrepresented communities in programming, IT, robotics and entrepreneurship and empower them to play a central role in social transformation, creating job opportunities and additional sources of income for their communities and families. ■