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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Braskem has signed an
agreement for the purchase of wind power from Casa dos Ventos, one of the
pioneers and largest investors in the development of wind power projects in
Brazil, as per Braskem's press release.
The corporate power purchase
agreement (PPA) is linked to the construction of a new wind power plant and
provides for the supply of renewable energy for 20 years, with emissions avoided
in the period estimated at around 700,000 tons of CO2. Casa dos Ventos will be
responsible for directing the investment in building the new wind
farm.
"This is our fourth long-term agreement for the acquisition of
renewable energy and involves the largest volume acquired to date. With it, we
will help build another power generation farm and strengthen our strategy of
ensuring an energy matrix with a growing share of renewable energy in our
operations and in the operations of the petrochemical chain, reaffirming our
commitment to sustainable development. We are working hard to become a carbon
neutral company by 2050, with the target of reducing by 15% our emissions by
2030, and this is just another step on this journey," said Gustavo Checcucci,
Energy Director at Braskem.
In addition to acquiring energy, Braskem will
have the option to acquire, subject to approval by government authorities, an
ownership interest in the wind farms, creating the possibility for implementing
a self-production model. "We created a custom model in which we are responsible
for building and operating the wind farms, but we offer the possibility for our
partners to become shareholders in these projects in the future. This is a
win-win model, especially for the country, since it encourages an energy
transition model for large consumers," explained Lucas Araripe, new business
director at Casa dos Ventos.
In 2020, Braskem announced two other major
agreements for the acquisition of renewable energy. The first agreement,
announced in March, with the France-based multinational Voltalia , will enable
the expansion of the Serra do Mel Solar Complex located in the state of Rio
Grande do Norte, with generation capacity of 270 MW. The second agreement,
announced in June, is a partnership with Canadian Solar that enables the
construction of a solar plant in northern Minas Gerais state, with installed
capacity of 152 MWp, which is sufficient to supply a city of 430,000
people.
In late 2018, the company signed an agreement with EDF Renewable
for the purchase of wind power for 20 years. Through these four agreements, with
Casa dos Ventos, Voltalia, Canadian and EDF Renewable, Braskem estimates that it
will avoid around 1.5 million tons of CO2 emissions.
Braskem announced a
public commitment to expand its efforts to become a carbon neutral company by
2050. To achieve this target, the company's strategy includes initiatives for
carbon reduction, offsetting and capture, expansion of the I'm greenT portfolio,
which comprises products focusing on the circular economy, as well as engagement
over the next ten years to reach the proper disposal of 1.5 million tons of
plastic waste.
Both Braskem and Casa dos Ventos are formal signatories to
the Global Compact and to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United
Nations. The partnership, combined with Braskem's initiatives for the following
decades, is aligned with the UN 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement for
controlling the impacts from climate change.
As MRC wrote before,
Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras is seeking 800 million reais (USD152
million) in compensation from engineering group Odebrecht in arbitration
proceedings over its alleged violation of the shareholders agreement in
petrochemical company Braskem. Odebrecht is seeking to sell its 38.3% stake in
Braskem SA, while Petrobras aims to offload its 36.1% stake.
We remind
that Braskem is no longer pursuing a
petrochemical project, which would have included an ethane cracker, in West
Virginia. And the company is seeking to sell the land that would have housed the
cracker. The project, announced in 2013, had been on Braskem's back burner for
several years.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing
polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's DataScope report,
PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and
reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the
greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia
increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months
of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase
in imports.
Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated
energy firm. Petrobras' activities include exploration, exploitation and
production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as
refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas
and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related
activities. |
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