EN 
PT_BR 
A Commerce Renew, Centralized Generation vertical of Comerc Energia Group, started test operation of the largest solar plant in the state of São Paulo, according to the company, with installed capacity of 269 MWp.
The unit will provide clean energy for the Eucatex – national giant in the construction industry, paints, furniture industry and timber resale; and for Grandfood (PremieRpet), a company in the dog and cat food market, through long-term partnerships (PPA).
In total, R$ 925 million was invested in the project, of which around R$ 500 million correspond to the plants that will serve both companies.
Located in the city of Castilho, in the interior of São Paulo, the Castilho Complex is composed of five photovoltaic plants and the companies Eucatex and Grandfood (PremieRpet) will be part of three of them.
The system will meet the energy needs of up to 100% from PremieRpet and 50% from Eucatex. Furthermore, it will help to avoid the emission of 235 thousand tons of CO2 into the atmosphere per year.
Just the partnership with Eucatex and Grandfood (PremieRpet) will be responsible for avoiding the emission of 120 thousand tons of this total, contributing to the decarbonization and ESG goals of both. This number is equivalent to the CO2 absorption carried out by 840 thousand trees over 30 years.
“Developing, implementing and energizing the Castilho solar plant is a source of great pride for the entire Comerc team, even more so if we consider that, despite the high complexity and size of the project, the project was completed earlier than expected”, commented Pedro Fiuza, Vice -President of Centralized Generation at Comerc.
“Over more than 70 years of history, Eucatex has always been concerned about the environment and its socioeconomic impacts, carrying out sustainable wood production to supply its manufacturing units and valuing the rational use of natural resources, with various certifications which attest to this condition”, stated José Antonio Goulart de Carvalho, Executive VPE and DRI at Eucatex.
Madalena Spinazzola, director of Strategic Planning and Corporate Marketing at Grandfood (PremieRpet), also highlighted the importance of the partnership and commented that the company crowned its sustainable journey by announcing that 100% of energy consumption will be supplied by a photovoltaic project.
Comerc targets 1.8 GWp by early 2024
Since 2021, Comerc has focused a large part of its investments on solar energy assets, mainly in the form of centralized generation.
The company expects to reach 1.8 GWp of installed capacity by the beginning of 2024 and already has practically all of this amount committed to partners. Therefore, it already foresees new investments in the sector for 2025.
