Brazil wind power company gets OK for data center project with TikTok interest

By Leticia Fucuchima

SAO PAULO, May 30 (Reuters) - Wind farm developer Casa dos Ventos has regulatory approval to move ahead with a 300-megawatt project in northeast Brazil where the company has been discussing a major data center investment with the owner of TikTok.

Brazil's national power grid operator gave the green light to connect the project at the Pecem port complex in Ceara, Casa dos Ventos told Reuters on Friday. The total investment in infrastructure and equipment for the data centers is expected to reach 50 billion reais ($8.7 billion), the company added.

The regulatory approval should speed up talks with major technology companies, including ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, a person familiar with the negotiations told Reuters. Reuters first reported last month that the Chinese company was eyeing a major Brazilian data center investment with Casa dos Ventos, which partnered in 2022 with TotalEnergies TTEF.PA on its wind power portfolio.

A technical reassessment by the national power grid operator and Brazil's Ministry of Mines and Energy cleared the way to authorize the project after an initial rejection threatened to make it unviable.

Casa dos Ventos said it now plans to start construction in the second half of this year and begin operations in the second semester of 2027.

To address concerns about water use that have confronted data center projects in some regions, the company said its project will use closed loop cooling systems, significantly reducing water demand.

Casa dos Ventos estimates the water usage for the first phase of the project will be equivalent to about 0.045% of the residential demand in the city of Caucaia, which neighbors the port complex.

($1 = 5.7180 reais)