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Market Chatter: Atlas Renewable Energy Pauses Over 1.5 GW Projects in Brazil

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Atlas Renewable Energy has put at least 1.5 gigawatts of renewable projects in Brazil on hold and has frozen $1 billion in investments, as the national grid operator frequently rejected renewable power, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing company chief executive Carlos Barrera.

The company, owned by asset manager BlackRock (BLK) through its unit Global Infrastructure Partners, originally planned to execute the projects over the past two years.

However, projects were deferred as renewable power was periodically rejected by the grid operator due to system limitations. So far in Q2, pre-emptive rejections by the operator have led to a 15% to 25% curtailment in solar and wind power generation from existing projects, according to the chief executive.

Barrera told Reuters that overcapacity of solar sources was the "real issue" in curtailments. Due to a solar glut, companies have to replace the rejected renewable generation by output from other sources at twice the cost, to honor contracts at more than the contracted volumes.

The current market design, which is compounding the negative effects of curtailments, will likely remain unchanged through 2028, Barrera reportedly said.

Nonetheless, curtailments could reportedly decline as solar capacity growth slows while demand continues to rise.

Atlas and Brazil's national grid operator did not immediately respond to' request for comment.

Last month, Fitch Ratings, as cited by Reuters, assigned negative outlooks for 11 Brazilian renewable project finances, with average curtailments surging between 7% and 25% in 2025, from 6% to 12% in 2024.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

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