Hydro and Macquarie plan wind and solar energy plant in Brazil

OSLO (Reuters) -Norsk Hydro's Rein and Macquarie Asset Management's Green Investment Group plan to build and operate a 586 megawatt wind and solar power plant in the northeast of Brazil, the companies said on Wednesday.

A final investment decision for the $700 million wind farm portion of the project is expected in the fourth quarter of 2022, while a decision on the solar plant will be taken at a later stage.

The project will supply 100% of the electricity required for Hydro's Paragominas bauxite mine and will reduce carbon emissions from Hydro's Alunorte alumina refinery, replacing coal.

"The project will be an important enabler to reach Hydro's target of a 30% CO2 reduction by 2030," the two firms said in a joint statement.

In the first phase, 80 wind turbines with a combined capacity of 456 MW will be constructed, with the option to develop up to 130 MW of solar power production in phase two.

Rein, Hydro's renewables unit, will own 49.9% of the project while Macquarie Green Investment Group Renewable Energy Fund 2 will hold the remaining 50.1%.

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Stine Jacobsen)