Odata invests in Omega Energia’s wind park for datacenter renewable supply

Brazil-based datacenter group Odata acquired a minority stake in energy company Omega Energia’s 212MW Assuruá IV wind farm, in Bahia state’s Xique-Xique municipality, for the supply of renewable energy to its datacenters, BNamericas was told.

With the investment, Odata claims to become the first datacenter hyperscaler in Latin America to have 100% of the power consumption of its sites coming from direct participation in renewable energy projects.

Other datacenter groups also have renewable energy supply agreements for their facilities, but without direct investment in the capital stock of energy companies.

“We’re probably going to be one of the first datacenter companies on the planet to actually generate its own clean energy. We're becoming a self-generator of energy,” Odata CEO Ricardo Alário told BNamericas in a recent interview, without detailing the project.

Odata did not disclose the exact stake bought nor how much it paid for it. It also did not specify how much of the energy produced in Assurá IV will be actually committed to its own usage.

The company projects that it will be able to stop emitting approximately 125,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere by 2035 with the Assuruá supply.

“Our commitment to ESG goes back a long way, and now we are taking another step forward by signing this agreement for the consumption of renewable energy, through a partnership in an Omega Energia wind farm,” Alário told BNamericas about this deal.

Odata, which was recently acquired by the US group Aligned Data Centers, is present in four countries in Latin America.

At present, the company has three datacenters operating in Brazil, one in Colombia, one in Mexico, and another in Chile, and four more sites under construction in these countries. Its operational sites have some 460MW of capacity.

“Considering our strong growth and high demand for energy, it is important for us to team up with great partners with specific expertise to offer sustainable solutions to our customers. We are pleased to partner with Omega on this project,” added Alário.

Carolina Maestri, Odata’s ESG director, told BNamericas that a strategy focused on energy efficiency and renewable energy “are differentials in our sector and essential for our society.”

“With increasing digitization and climate change, it is essential to have zero carbon energy sources, and wind energy becomes one of the best options for achieving our ESG goals, contributing to the fight against climate change and to the UN Sustainable Development Development Goals,” she said. 

Prior to this deal, 85-90% of the energy Odata used in its operations was renewable, either through PPAs or green certificates, according to Alário.

Odata's renewables investments were reportedly one factor that Aligned Data Centers took into account when evaluating its acquisition.

“Going through this process, when we saw what the Odata team was doing with its self-generation … I mean, quite frankly, we don’t know of anybody who's doing anything like that, not even in the US,” Aligned Data Centers CEO Andrew Schapp told BNamericas in December.

The closing of this transaction is still subject to customary approvals, including, among others, clearance by Brazil's antitrust regulator Cade. The company requested approval on February 15.

GROWING FOOTPRINT

Omega announced a binding agreement to take full control of the gigawatt-scale Assuruá wind complex, for an estimated value of 262mn reais (US$50.4mn), in March 2022.

With the deal, Omega Energia acquired both the Assuruá IV and the 244MW Assuruá V wind projects, as well as the rights to certain wind and solar expansions that would add 618MW of capacity to the complex.

On the occasion, Omega said that the complex was scheduled to become fully operational in 2023 and that Assuruá IV and V would contribute around 380mn reais to Omega Energia's annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

Omega Energia also estimated that the Assuruá complex could reach close to 1,500MW in installed capacity in the coming years.

In December, Omega also announced it concluded the acquisition of a 50% equity stake in the 182MW Ventos da Bahia 3 wind power complex, also in Bahia state, from EDF Renewables do Brasil.

The 33-turbine wind park entered operations in July 2022.

Omega paid 423mn reais for this deal, including 226mn reais in net debt assumption by its subsidiary Omega Geração.

Considering all its assets and the ramp-up of existing parks, Omega Energia projects 2023 generation of 8,700-9,800GW.