Brazil's BNDES extends $46mn loan for two biogas plants
Brazil's National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) on December 6 announced an investment in renewable energy by granting loans totalling 230mn Brazilian reals ($46mn) for the construction of two biogas plants in Sao Paulo state. The plants will be developed by local companies Essencis Biometano and Cocal Energia.
The Essencis plant in Caieiras is expected to produce 68,000 m3/day of biomethane, capable of replacing 43,068 tonnes/year of carbon dioxide. The Cocal plant in Paraguacu Paulista will produce 60,000 m3/day.
The biogas will be captured at the Caieiras landfill through a network of pipelines and directed to a purification plant, where CO2 and other gases will be separated to increase the concentration of methane above 95%, generating biomethane.
The Paraguacu Paulista plant will utilise sugarcane straw, filter cake, and vinasse from alcohol and sugar production to generate biomethane. Part of the production will fuel the Cocal Group's own fleet of vehicles, while the remainder will be distributed to industrial and commercial customers nationwide.
“Such initiatives will boost the production of biomethane in Brazil, which has enormous potential for replacing the use of diesel in heavy vehicles and agricultural machinery, contributing to the energy transition and decarbonisation of Brazil's fuel matrix,” said Jose Luis Gordon, director of productive development, innovation and foreign trade at BNDES.