Equinor signed an agreement to acquire a 40% share in the construction ready project in October 2017 The Apodi asset is located in the municipality of Quixeré The asset holds a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with CCEE the Brazilian Power Commercialization Chamber The plant is expected to provide about 340,000 MWh of electricity per year providing energy for more than 170,000 households “We have successfully realized our first solar power plant in Brazil and yet again confirming our strong track record as an independent solar power producer We see significant potential for further growth in Brazil and other parts of Latin America and we will soon start construction of a new 117 MW solar plant in Argentine in partnership with Equinor” The clean energy produced by the Apodi Solar plant is equivalent to a CO2 reduction of around 200,000 tons per annum Scatec Solar established a 50/50 Joint Venture (JV) with Equinor to build own and operate large scale solar plants in Brazil The JV will be responsible for operation and maintenance as well as asset management of the solar plant The Apodi Solar plant is owned 43.75 percent by Scatec Solar 43.75 percent by Equinor and 12.5 percent by the holding company Apodi Participações formed by the Brazilian companies Z2 Power You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience The US$215 million Apodi solar park is located in the city of Quixeré The project was selected in Brazil’s second auction for renewables A large-scale PV plant built by Norway's Scatec Solar in Brazil From pv magazine LatAm Norwegian solar developer Scatec Solar has announced the completion of its 162 MW Apodi solar project in Brazil The plant, which was built through a 50/50 joint venture with Norway’s oil company Equinor 43.75% by Equinor and 12.5% by holding company Apodi Participações formed by the Brazilian companies Z2 Power The project was selected by the Brazilian regulator ANEEL in the country’s second renewable energy auction which was held in 2015 and was awarded a 20-year PPA with CCEE “We have successfully realized our first solar power plant in Brazil and yet again confirming our strong track record as an independent solar power producer,” said Scatec CEO Raymond Carlsen in a statement released “We see significant potential for further growth in Brazil and other parts of Latin America and we will soon start construction of a new 117 MW solar plant in Argentina in partnership with Equinor,” he added the largest shareholder of which is the Brazilian Federal Government “Scatec Solar now holds 519 MW of solar power plants in operation 895 MW under construction and about 4.5 GW in project backlog and pipeline,” continued the statement More articles from Emiliano Bellini Please be mindful of our community standards and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" This website uses cookies to anonymously count visitor numbers. View our privacy policy. × The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this Close Newly described species lived around 110 million years ago in what may have been the last land bridge between Brazil and Africa During the time when large dinosaurs roamed the world between approximately 230 million and 66 million years ago titanosaurs were giant herbivores that protected themselves from predators either with bony plates lining their skin or by delivering powerful blows with their tails measured around 10 meters in length and lived around 110 million years ago on what was one of the last connection points between Brazil and Africa which is now the Northeast region of Brazil Biomechanical analyses have indicated that features in the vertebrae of its tail enabled a wide range of movement without disarticulation as suggested by the article published in May in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society The inference was made by Brazilian researchers based on eight vertebrae excavated in the vicinity of the city of Quixeré where paleontologists are dedicated to studying outcrops of the Açu Formation aged between 113 million and 89.8 million years “The Açu Formation is very diverse in terms of animals We are also going to describe five groups of carnivorous dinosaurs besides turtles and fish,” explains paleontologist Paulo Victor Pereira collections technician in the Macrofossils Laboratory of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) None of the fossils of these groups were known in the sediments of the Açu Formation until 2005 when French geologist Pinheiro de Lima Filho of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) discovered the materials and notified paleontologist Lilian Bergqvist She took on the coordination of the projects that have brought together researchers from different institutions in Brazil as well as from the Bernardino Rivadávia Museum of Natural Science The area where the titanosaur bones were found was discovered by archaeologist Valdeci dos Santos Filho of the State University of Rio Grande do Norte (UERN) The genus was named after the goddess of Sumerian and Babylonian mythology who is represented as a large serpent or a dragon and is considered the mother of dragons and other gods The vertebrae closest to the beginning of the tail of T valdecii were concaved on the anterior part and convex on the posterior end Anatomists call this configuration “procoelous,” which aids safe rotational movement of the vertebrae due to these bones fitting together in sequence the animal presented a solution for the stability of the vertebrae that had not been seen before in other fossils: a concave-convex structure at the ends of the joints that regulates the movement of the vertebrae This form of articulation would have prevented disarticulations and allowed for greater movement and balance “This caught our attention in the description of the species We compared it with materials from both South America and Africa and concluded that these characteristics were not present in other animals,” explains Pereira which analyze the voluntary movements of living beings based on mechanical laws and norms that allow paleontologists access to details about organisms from the past beyond the species classifications “We go beyond examining inanimate material biologist Luciano Vidal assembled a 3D model of the vertebrae using a procedure called photogrammetry which overlays different images of the same object to assemble the digital model valdecii with those of other closely related organisms to create a model of what the entire spinal column of the species would have looked like The final stage of the process included calculating the thickness of the cartilage between the vertebrae based on new comparisons of the related groups to deduce the position of this titanosaur’s limbs while resting Argentinian paleontologist Rodolfo Aníbal Coria recognized for having described at least five species of dinosaurs says “the research was done based on solid anatomical arguments and certainly enriches our understanding of ancient ecosystems,” via email to Pesquisa FAPESP but this alone does not explain how these animals lived Biomechanics helps us understand which evolutionary paths were taken to solve problems common to other groups and species,” explains paleontologist Thiago Marinho of the Federal University of Triângulo Mineiro (UFTM) an expert in titanosaurs who also did not participate in the work valdecii was found in sediments dated to the final ages of the Early Cretaceous whereas the majority of titanosaurs known today are from the Late Cretaceous which began at least around 13 million years later along with the characteristics of the body of the new titanosaur valdecii to be classified as a basal species of this group of dinosaurs just like the titanosaur Andesaurus delgadoi The value of this information lies in knowing that characteristics such as the procoelous vertebrae which paleontologists supposed had developed over the course of the evolution of the titanosaurs was actually present since the first species of the group “Remains of titanosaurs from older levels of the Cretaceous are particularly scarce with just a handful of species found in Patagonia This new species from Brazil is surprising because of the uniqueness of the period that it represents while also clearly differentiating itself from Patagonian forms,” says Coria “Over 30 years after the Andesaurus description Tiamat provides important anatomical information to advance current phylogenetic hypotheses especially based on the diversification of the titanosaurs,” he adds The Açu Formation was one of the last connection points of Brazil with Africa previously joined together on the Gondwana continent The other parts of the world were on the other large continent called Laurasia “Where do you think the titanosaurs emerged from?” questions Marinho “There is a complete gap of information from the Lower Cretaceous and early Upper Cretaceous that needs to be understood and this species has the potential to help with this,” he concluded Scientific article PEREIRA, P. V. L. G. C. et al. A new sauropod species from north-western Brazil: Biomechanics and the radiation of Titanosauria (Sauropoda: Somphospondyli) © Revista Pesquisa FAPESP - All rights reserved Statoil has signed an agreement to acquire a 40% share in the construction ready 162MW Apodi solar asset in Brazil from Scatec Solar a Norwegian independent solar power producer The project will provide approximately 160,000 households with electricity Statoil and Scatec Solar have also agreed on an exclusive cooperation to jointly develop potential future solar projects in Brazil Statoil will also acquire a 50% share in the project execution company enabling Statoil to participate in building and operating solar projects in the future “Brazil is a core area for Statoil where our ambition is to deliver safe and sustainable growth in a significant energy market Entering into solar in Brazil adds to the positions we have already in the producing Peregrino oil field and in the offshore licenses BM-S-8 and BM-C-33 which include the yet to be developed discoveries Carcará and Pão de Açúcar respectively We are excited to have entered our first solar project with an experienced partner like Scatec Solar,” says Irene Rummelhoff Executive Vice President of New Energy Solutions in Statoil Statoil will pay a combined acquisition price of USD 25 million for access to the Apodi solar asset and the project execution company The construction of the solar plant will start in October 2017 aiming to deliver electricity from the end of 2018 Total project capex is estimated to USD 215 million The Apodi solar asset will be funded 65% by project financing and 35% equity contribution of which Statoil’s equity share will be approximately USD 30million and is fully-permitted with grid connection The asset holds a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) awarded in 2015 at an auction organised by the Brazilian government with an inflation adjusted offtake price equivalent to 104 USD/MWh in 2017 Following the transaction Scatec Solar holds a 40% share in the Apodi solar asset “As part of Statoil’s strategy to actively complement our oil and gas portfolio with profitable renewable energy sources we have so far focused on offshore wind where we have a unique competitive advantage building on over 40 years with oil and gas acitvities The Apodi asset is a sensible first step into the solar industry and can demonstrate how solar can provide Statoil with scaleable and profitable growth opportunities,” says Rummelhoff The construction and operations phase for this project will be led by Scatec Solar with Statoil contributing with staff and services from Brazil as well as Norway Improved technology and lower costs have turned solar into an attractive power source outcompeting traditional sources of energy in important markets Solar Photovoltaic (PV) has grown approximately 50% per year globally over the last 10 years approximately 3GW of solar projects have been awarded in Brazil in three consecutive utility scale solar auctions Another 7GW is planned to be awarded by 2024 “The potential for solar energy in Brazil is substantial and together with Statoil we are increasing  our ambitions further in this market We are bringing into the partnership a strong track record as an integrated independent solar power producer while Statoil has a strong engagement and experience from Brazil through its other energy activities,” says Raymond Carlsen Scatec Solar is a Norwegian based solar power producer currently having 322 MW of solar power plants in operation In addition the company has a significant pipeline of solar projects ApodiPar is a Brazilian consortium consisting of three investors Statoil already has a sizeable renewables portfolio with an offshore wind portfolio with the capacity of providing over 1 million homes with renewable energy Statoil operates the Sheringham Shoal wind farm in the UK also operated by Statoil — and the world’s first floating offshore wind farm Hywind Scotland — start producing in 2017 In 2016 Statoil also acquired 50% of the Arkona offshore wind farm in Germany