Âmbar Energia is to invest R$60 million in the expansion and modernisation of the Salto do Passo Velho small hydropower plant in southern Brazil.
The project will increase the plant’s installed capacity from 1.8MW to 11.75MW, representing a 6.5-fold expansion. Construction is scheduled for completion in December 2030.
Salto do Passo Velho is located on the Chapecozinho River in the Uruguay River basin, in the municipality of Bom Jesus, Santa Catarina state.
The investment will expand Âmbar’s generating capacity in Santa Catarina and strengthen its presence in Brazil’s Southern Region, where it operates assets in Santa Catarina, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul.
Âmbar, part of the J&F group, owns four power plants in Santa Catarina. Alongside Salto do Passo Velho, its portfolio comprises the 8.2MW Salto Voltão and 1MW Paraíso small hydropower plants, as well as the 28MW biomass-fired Lages thermal power plant.
Its wider southern Brazilian portfolio includes the 484MW Araucária gas-fired power plant in Paraná and the Uruguaiana and Candiota thermal power plants in Rio Grande do Sul, with installed capacities of 640MW and 350MW respectively.
