Cities around the world are taking advantage of the ever more accessible and affordable renewable energy options coming onto the market. In this context, the city of Curitiba in Brazil acts as an example of how to deliver clean cheap energy for the city, while reducing its dependence on the grid.
As part of its second phase, the C40 Cities Finance Facility (CFF) currently supports the city of Curitiba with technical assistance for the development of rooftop solar projects on four bus terminals, as well as a surface PV project on the deactivated Caximba Landfill.
On Tuesday 23rd June 2020, the Bill for the creation of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the future solar plant, which will give new use to the deactivated Caximba landfill, was sent to the City council. A Special Purpose Vehicle is a legal entity created for a limited business acquisition or transaction, or it can be used as a funding structure.
The Bill includes the creation of an SPV (Special Partnership Vehicle) which will allow the municipality to partner with the utility company COPEL. In the SPV, the municipality will contribute 51% of the capital while Copel amounts for 49%. This mechanism was proposed during a technical visit with Mayor Greca, the Secretary of Environment, Copel and the CFF. Thanks to this SPV, the City will be able to implement a pyramid-shaped plant with PV panels with a capacity of 3.5 MW. In addition, a biomass production plant which will process organic residues obtained from tree and garden prunings will provide an additional 1.5 MW. In total, the City will benefit from an additional 5 MW of installed power.
"We will have here an example of sustainable development for Brazil. We are going to reconcile the energy that is lost today with the decomposition of waste with that lost with each time the sun illuminates our Brazil in a large new energy plant”
Manuel Olivera, C40 Regional Director for Latin America said, "Curitiba, under the leadership of Mayor Greca, today takes an important step towards meeting its climate goals. The C40 remains committed to supporting the mayor and the city in their efforts to create a cleaner, sustainable and inclusive future through its Climate Action Plan.”
The city is leading the project’s planning and implementation, while the CFF is providing technical feasibility studies for all PV projects; legal and institutional studies that will permit the City to develop the necessary tender documents; financing strategies and contact models for public private partnership investments; a business case for the projects which covers payback periods and cost-benefit analyses; and, an exhaustive evaluation of potential future revenue streams with a possible upscaling of the project.
Originally from Curitiba, João Fávaro de Oliveira, CFF’s Senior Project Advisor who oversees the technical work carried out for both Curitiba and Rio de Janeiro, said "the City Hall team is very engaged in the process, they are ideal partners for the program.”
With this Bill, the City of Curitiba proves its commitment to sustainable development, ensuring a brighter and cleaner future for its citizens.
See below for a link to the City of Curitiba article, and the CFF Curitiba project page.
Avança projeto de instalação de painéis solares no antigo aterro do Caximba
Para rede C40, Curitiba irá liderar uma revolução solar
Curitiba - From landfill to solar revolution
