LONDON, July 4 (Reuters) - Solar energy developer Lightsource BP has acquired a large number of projects in Brazil with a potential to nearly double its current global capacity. </s> LONDON, July 4 (Reuters) - Solar energy developer Lightsource BP has acquired a large number of projects in Brazil with a potential to nearly double its current global capacity.

The London-based firm, in which BP holds a 43% stake, said in a statement it bought 1.9 gigawatt of projects from independent renewables developer Enerlife for an undisclosed sum.

Solar power contributes just over 1% of Brazil's total electricity generation, which is expected to soar in the coming decades.

"These are the building blocks of which we will grow a very successful solar business across Brazil," Lightsource BP Chief Operating Officer Kareen Boutonnat said in a statement.

Lightsource will target mainly corporate and industrial buyers in both the regulated and unregulated market, according to Vlasios Souflis, director for international business development.

The Brazilian government last week awarded licences for new power generation projects that would add 402 megawatts (MW) of capacity by 2023 at record-low price for solar generation. Enerlife was awarded over 160 megawatt in five solar projects.

Lightsource BP is the largest European utility solar developer with over $3 billion invested across nearly 2 gigawatt of solar projects around the world, according to Lightsource BP's statement.

The company has in recent years expanded its operations in the U.S. states of California, Pennsylvania and Maryland as well as in Egypt and India.

The Enerlife portfolio consists of 1.9 gigawatts of solar projects, including of 440 megawatt in late stage development as well as 180 megawatt of distributed generation projects across five sites, each one up to 5 megawatt capacity, Lightsource BP said. </s> London — Solar energy developer Lightsource BP has acquired a large number of projects in Brazil with a potential to nearly double its global capacity.

The London-based firm, in which BP holds a 43% stake, said in a statement it bought 1.9GW of projects from independent renewables developer Enerlife for an undisclosed sum.

The utility-scale solar projects are at different stages, from early land permits to more advanced developments with grid connections. Solar power contributes just over 1% of Brazil’s total electricity generation, which is expected to soar in the coming decades.

“These are the building blocks of which we will grow a very successful solar business across Brazil,” Lightsource BP COO Kareen Boutonnat said.

Lightsource will target mainly corporate and industrial buyers in both the regulated and unregulated market, according to Vlasios Souflis, director for international business development.

The Brazilian government last week awarded licences for new power generation projects that would add 402MW of capacity by 2023 at record-low price for solar generation. Enerlife was awarded over 160MW in five solar projects.

Lightsource BP is the largest European utility solar developer with over $3bn invested across nearly 2GW of solar projects around the world, according to Lightsource BP’s statement.

The company has in recent years expanded its operations in the US states of California, Pennsylvania and Maryland, as well as in Egypt and India.

The Enerlife portfolio consists of 1.9GW of solar projects, including of 440MW in late stage development, as well as 180MW of distributed generation projects across five states, each one up to 5MW capacity, Lightsource BP said. </s> The developer has announced a major portfolio acquisition. London-based Lightsource says it has acquired 1.9 GW of solar generation capacity in various stages of development from Brazilian developer Enerlife.U.K. based developer Lightsource BP has announced a major move into Brazilian solar, with the acquisition of almost 2 GW of PV projects from Enerlife. Financial details of the deal, which will almost double the size of Lightsource BP's project portfolio, were not disclosed. The transaction will see Enerlife CEO Miguel Lobo and other senior executives move to Lightsource to continue managing ... </s> Lightsource BP has announced the purchase of a large number of solar energy projects in Brazil.

The acquisition from Latin American renewables developer Enerlife consists of around 2GW of greenfield solar projects at various development stages – from early land permits to more advanced developments with grid connections – across the country.

Under the deal, some senior executives from Enerlife will join the Lightsource BP team, which aims to target mainly corporate and industrial buyers in the market.

The news comes as a new report suggested renewable energy capacity in Brazil is forecast to exceed 60GW by 2030.

Kareen Boutonnat, Group Chief Operating Officer for Lightsource BP said: “This move creates a very firm footprint for us across the region and bringing the Enerlife team onboard significantly enhances our local capability and experience. These are the building blocks of which we will grow a very successful solar business across Brazil.” </s> LONDON (Reuters) - Solar energy developer Lightsource BP has acquired a large number of projects in Brazil with a potential to nearly double its current global capacity.

FILE PHOTO - Lightsource BP's floating installation is seen at the Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir, in Britain, in this undated photo released by Lightsource BP on April 3, 2019. Lightsource BP/Handout via REUTERS

The London-based firm, in which BP holds a 43% stake, said in a statement it bought 1.9 gigawatt of projects from independent renewables developer Enerlife for an undisclosed sum.

The utility-scale solar projects are at different stages, from early land permits to more advanced developments with grid connections.

Solar power contributes just over 1% of Brazil’s total electricity generation, which is expected to soar in the coming decades.

“These are the building blocks of which we will grow a very successful solar business across Brazil,” Lightsource BP Chief Operating Officer Kareen Boutonnat said in a statement.

Lightsource will target mainly corporate and industrial buyers in both the regulated and unregulated market, according to Vlasios Souflis, director for international business development.

The Brazilian government last week awarded licenses for new power generation projects that would add 402 megawatts (MW) of capacity by 2023 at record-low price for solar generation. Enerlife was awarded over 160 megawatt in five solar projects.

Lightsource BP is the largest European utility solar developer with over $3 billion invested across nearly 2 gigawatt of solar projects around the world, according to Lightsource BP’s statement.

The company has in recent years expanded its operations in the U.S. states of California, Pennsylvania and Maryland as well as in Egypt and India.

The Enerlife portfolio consists of 1.9 gigawatts of solar projects, including of 440 megawatt in late stage development as well as 180 megawatt of distributed generation projects across five states, each one up to 5 megawatt capacity, Lightsource BP said.

Graphic: Energy growth - tmsnrt.rs/2FQ6ugR

(The story in last paragraph, corrects to five states, not sites, after company corrected its statement.) </s> As part of the transaction, some members of Enerlife will join Lightsource BP to continue serving the acquired portfolio

UK-based solar developer Lightsource BP has acquired approximately 2GW of solar projects, in various development stages, in Brazil from Enerlife, a Latin American independent renewables developer.

Financial terms related to the deal were not disclosed. Through the deal, Lightsource BP is expected to substantially enhance its portfolio, strengthen experience and establish itself as a major player in the Latin American market.

Lightsource BP group chief operating officer Kareen Boutonnat said: “This move creates a very firm footprint for us across the region and bringing the Enerlife team onboard significantly enhances our local capability and experience. These are the building blocks of which we will grow a very successful solar business across Brazil.”

Some Enerlife team members to move to Lightsource BP as part of the deal

As part of the transaction, some members of Enerlife will join Lightsource BP and will continue serving the acquired portfolio.

Enerlife former CEO Miguel Lobo will join Lightsource BP along with other senior executives from the company. Lobo will join the company as director of business development.

Lobo said: “We are very excited to become part of the Lightsource BP family. Based on our project development experience across Latin America, our team has achieved a significant portfolio in a short space of time.

“I am personally looking forward to growing and progressing further with the solid financial backing, wide experience and extensive procurement and supply chain relationships afforded by Lightsource BP. This is the next step in putting solar firmly on the Brazilian energy map.”

In May, Lightsource BP secured debt investment of $194m (£154.2m) from Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) to finance a portfolio of solar assets owned and managed by the company.

As per CDPQ, the debt facility will be used for financing a diversified portfolio of solar assets including more than 100 solar projects located across various countries, totaling more than 700MW. </s> • Nara Solar will specialise in the development of small to utility scale early-stage photovoltaic solar energy projects
• Headquartered in Madrid, the platform will operate across Europe to develop an initial pipeline of over 700MW across Spain, France and the Netherlands

Nara Solar will initially develop Univergy International's existing European portfolio of over 35 projects, totalling more than 700MW. Headquartered in Madrid, and operating from four offices in Spain, the Spanish market will be a central focus for Nara Solar where it will look to triple the capacity of its current Spanish portfolio over the next year.

The European market offers significant opportunities for solar development. Over 93GW of new solar energy capacity is anticipated to be installed across Europe between 2018 -2022, with over 8GW in Spain, representing an annual Spanish growth rate of 21%. Solar power is now one of the cheapest forms of renewable energy across Europe and 2018 saw the delivery of the first subsidy-free PPA backed solar projects delivered in Spain [3].

Yago Acon, CEO of Nara Solar, said: 'The European solar market is gearing up a period of significant growth, particularly in Spain where falling costs have stimulated a reawakening of the industry. It's an exciting time to be creating a new solar development platform that will generate new investment opportunities and help stimulate the growth of solar energy across Europe.'

[1]Green Investment Group Limited (GIG) is a specialist in green infrastructure project development and principal investment. Its track record, expertise and capability make it a global leader in green investment, dedicated to supporting the growth of the global green economy. As part of the Macquarie Group, it is one of the world's largest teams of specialist green investors.

[2] Univergy International is a renewable energy development company specialising in the development, construction and operation of photovoltaic solar energy projects. Based in Tokyo and Madrid, the group is active in almost every continent through its global project portfolio of over 2.6GW </s> SAO PAULO, April 17 (Reuters) - A Brazilian court has ordered state-controlled oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA to suspend the sale of its stake in an exploratory block to Norway's Statoil ASA.

Petrobras, as the company is known, said in a securities filing on Monday that the deal for its stake in the BM-S-8 region known as the Campo de Carcara was approved by regulators and closed in November. Half of the $2.5 billion in proceeds have been used to repay debts, the company said, adding that it would take legal measures to defend its interests. (Reporting by Marta Nogueira Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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Lightsource BP, a solar energy developer headquartered in London, has announced that it will acquire utility-scale solar projects in Brazil, 1.9 gigawatts of projects, for an undisclosed sum. This is a major expansion for Lightsource, which is 43% owned by the energy giant BP.