Cosan creates Energy Company and joins a fund for cogeneration
Valor Econômico 03/26/2009
The Cosan group is creating a new company, Cosan Bioenergia, to put up the largest global company generating energy from sugar cane bagasse. Valor discovered this new company will receive an investment of R$ 500 million (US$ 217.4 million) from the FI-FGTS Investment Fund, which already finances undertakings in infrastructure - energy, transportation and sanitation in the country. The understandings between the sugar and alcohol group and Caixa Econômica Federal (CEF), manager of the fund, are being coordinated by the Credit Suisse bank. The negotiations between the parties are advanced and this partnership shall be announced within the next days.
The investments of Cosan in cogeneration from the sugar cane bagasse must amount to R$ 2 billion (US$ 869.6 million) a great part of which has already been invested by the group. With the investment, the fund will have nearly 20% of participation in Cosan Bioenergia and the private group, the other 80%. This project will place Cosan as the largest company in energy generation from the biomass in the world. Currently, Cosan already has projects of biomass underway and it also has the sale of energy committed in auctions held by the Government and with private companies. The São Paulo units of the group, Gasa and Serra, already have a long term contract with CPFL Energia. The Barra unit, located in Barra Bonita (SP), the largest of the group, has also closed a 15-year contract, in the value of R$ 489 million (US$ 212.6 million), with Rede Comercializadora de Energia. Cosan's current energy installed capacity is 800 megawatts (MW), but with the investments that are underway such capacity may achieve 1.2 thousand MW.