Sudene Advances Funding for 119-MW Ceará Solar Build

• Sudene approves a third funding tranche for Qair’s 119.2-MWp Bom Jardim solar complex in Ceará, accelerating the state's transition into a global clean-energy and green hydrogen hub.

Brazil’s regional development agency, Sudene, has approved a third funding tranche for Qair’s 119.2-MWp Bom Jardim solar complex in Ceará. The capital, provided through the Northeast Development Fund (FDNE), marks a significant milestone in the project's staged financing. This authorization confirms the development remains on schedule, as fund releases are strictly tied to the successful completion of permits, procurement, and site execution.

The Bom Jardim complex is a cornerstone of Ceará’s strategy to establish itself as a global clean-energy hub. By increasing utility-scale solar capacity, the state aims to provide the stable, low-cost electricity necessary to support ambitious green hydrogen and export-oriented manufacturing projects at the Port of Pecém. This infrastructure buildout reinforces Ceará’s industrial credibility and commitment to a renewable-led economic transition.

How will Sudene's funding and Ceará's industrial strategy accelerate the Bom Jardim solar project?

• Capitalizes on FDNE financing to bridge the "utility-scale gap," providing the necessary liquidity to maintain a 2.13 billion BRL investment cycle and hit the 2027 full-scale operation target
  
• Secures the 8-kilometer transmission link to the 230-kV Icó Substation, a critical grid-integration milestone that allows Qair to transition from testing individual plants to delivering commercial-grade load to the regional energy matrix
  
• Leverages REIDI tax incentives to lower the project’s levelized cost of energy, making the resulting power more competitive for the high-intensity electrolyzers planned for the Pecém Green Hydrogen Hub
  
• Supports Ceará’s "Plano Verde" by scaling dispatchable daytime capacity, which is essential for creating the energy-supply stability required to attract global industrial partners to the Port of Pecém’s Export Processing Zone
• Stimulates a specialized local supply chain in the municipality of Icó, with the buildout expected to generate approximately 20,000 direct and indirect jobs during the construction and early operational phases
• Reinforces the state’s 643-GW solar potential narrative, using Bom Jardim as a bankable proof-of-concept for the international investors and World Bank-backed initiatives currently targeting Brazil’s Northeast for large-scale energy transformation