On July 18, local time, global mining giant Brazil's Vale (Vale) announced that the company's "Sol do Cerrado" solar park in Yahiba, Minas Gerais, Brazil, has reached its maximum power generation capacity. Vale received approval from the Brazilian National Electricity Authority (ANEEL) on the same day, and the last of the 17 photovoltaic power plants (sub-parks) in the park has been approved for commercial operation.

The Cerrado Sun is one of the largest solar parks in Latin America, with a total investment of approximately R$ 3 billion ($0.59 billion).

Earlier in December 2020, the mining giant announced that it would implement the project, namely the construction of a photovoltaic power plant, the power plant will be composed of 17 branches, the total installed capacity of 766 megawatts peak (MWp), equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of a city with 800000 residents. The project also includes the construction of a 15-kilometer, 230-kilovolt transmission line to connect the "Serado Sun" and the substation in Yaíba, and to transmit electricity to Brazil's national grid.

According to reports, the solar park covers an area equivalent to 1300 football fields, uses 1.4 million solar panels, and is equipped with a system that can automatically track the sun's movement during the day, so it can make better use of solar power. The park also uses 10.2 million meters of cable to transmit power.

In November 2022, Vale has launched the operation of the "Cerado Sun" solar park, with 4 of the 17 photovoltaic power plants first put into operation. In the following months, with the approval of the regulatory authorities, the scale of operation of the park gradually expanded until it is now fully operational.

Earlier, in May 2020, Vale announced that it would invest at least US $2 billion to achieve a 33% reduction in direct and indirect absolute emissions by 2030. Vale also plans to transform itself into a net zero-emissions company by the end of 2050.

Vale said that the "Sierra do Sun" project will help the company achieve the climate goals of "reducing absolute emissions of" Scope One "and" Scope Two "by 33% by 2030" and "net zero emissions by 2050.

Vale recently stated that after reaching the maximum power generation capacity, the electricity generated by Vale will account for 16% of the electricity consumed by Vale in Brazil. The electricity generated will enable Vale to reduce its emissions by 134000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, equivalent to the emissions generated by 100000 small cars a year.

In addition, Vale also revealed that it will achieve 100 per cent renewable energy supply in Brazil by 2025 and 100 per cent renewable energy supply globally by 2030.

It is worth mentioning that the photovoltaic modules and spare parts used in this project are provided by China Photovoltaic Leader Jingke Energy (688223.SH). Vale said that this is a good example of close cooperation between the company and China in the field of combating climate change.

Just as the "Serrado Sun" solar park was launched last year, Jingke Energy announced that the project used Jingke Energy to 182 high-efficiency double-sided double-glass modules. Jingke Energy said that compared with traditional single-glass products, Jingke Energy double-glass components have better weather resistance and attenuation, for the photovoltaic power plant life cycle reliability and power generation output escort. At the same time, with the back power generation gain of the double-glass module, the power generation of the module is significantly increased in the inherent application area, effectively reducing the cost of electricity and improving the return on investment of the project. In addition, the application of pure half-piece process and round wire welding belt reduces the heat loss of the component and improves the utilization rate of light refraction inside the component, so that every sunlight can be used to the best of everything and create more value for the power generation income of customer projects.

Jinko Energy said at the time that Brazil is one of the company's key overseas markets. In the future, it will continue to strengthen cooperation with local Brazilian companies in the field of new energy applications in order to promote the expansion of clean energy supply in Brazil and reduce energy costs.

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Vale is one of the world's largest producers of iron ore and nickel metals. Vale operates a large logistics system in Brazil and other parts of the world, including railways, maritime terminals and ports, and also has a logistics center to support the global distribution of iron ore.