Canadian Brookfield was authorized by the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) to acquire a set of solar energy projects in Northeast Brazil.

Cade approved the purchase without restrictions, whereby Brookfield will take control of the pre-operating ventures owned by Alex Newen, a company in the engineering and construction group Steelcons, according to the publication in the Official Gazette of the Union this Tuesday. (28). The solar projects involved in the business, of the Alex complex in Ceará, will add up to a total installed capacity of 278 megawatts, according to the opinion of the state agency.

Brookfield provisions R $ 195 million from the Panamby real estate fund. The purchase marks yet another move by Canadians to expand their presence in the Brazilian electric sector, where the group has a significant presence, with assets ranging from hydroelectric plants and wind farms to electricity transmission lines.

Brookfield's initiative to invest comes at a time when solar energy has shown great growth in Brazil, amid a sharp drop in technology prices. Solar projects are equivalent to just 1.45% of the country's generating complex, but the last two auctions by the Brazilian government to contract new energy projects, in June and October 2019, were the first occasions when solar plants had the lowest price between the sources available, standing above wind and hydroelectric parks in terms of competitiveness. Steelcons, owner of the developments that Brookfield acquired, headquartered in Campinas, in the interior of São Paulo, had closed the early sale of energy from its solar projects at an auction held by the federal government in April 2018.