Brazilian buy

Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday 17/2/2007 Page: 41

RENEWABLE energy group Pacific Hydro plans to invest more than $500 million in "the coming years" to build plants in Brazil after acquiring that country's wind energy company, SES.

Chief executive Rob Grant said the Melbourne wind energy and hydropower producer intended to develop more than 300 megawatts of clean energy generation projects in Brazil, which is targeting 10 per cent renewable energy use by 2020.

Pacific, bought for $788 million in July 2005 by pension funds manager Industry Funds Management, is spending about $1.5 billion on projects between 2005 and 2010 to double the value of the company and take advantage of increasing demand for nonpolluting forms of electricity generation.

"While the Brazilian market is currently hydro dominated, it has excellent wind resources," Mr Grant said. Pacific Hydro did not say how much it paid for SES, a unit of Germany's renergys GmbH.