French Renewable Firm Voltalia Courts ByteDance, Brookfield for Brazilian Data Center Venture
December 3, 2025
French renewable energy producer Voltalia SA is in discussions to partner with Chinese tech giant ByteDance and Canadian asset manager Brookfield Asset Management on a major data center project in Brazil, according to a Bloomberg report. The move highlights a growing trend of energy providers seeking direct partnerships with large-scale power consumers to navigate market challenges and secure demand for their output.
The proposed data center campus is slated for the Pecem Industrial and Port Complex in the northeastern state of Ceará. This initiative comes as Voltalia, which operates a global portfolio of 2.5 gigawatts (GW) with 1.5GW located in Brazil, faces pressure from a government-mandated curtailment policy in the region due to an oversupply of renewable energy. Data centers, with their massive and consistent power requirements, have become an increasingly attractive outlet for such excess capacity.
Sources indicate that Voltalia aims to secure anchor tenant and investment agreements based on its project pipeline before moving forward. The envisioned facility could eventually scale to a substantial capacity of around 1GW. The company is reportedly awaiting approval for a tax incentive before finalizing any deals and has also approached other potential partners, including Alphabet and Meta.
The report adds a layer of complexity to ByteDance's existing plans in Brazil. Regulatory approval was granted in June for a separate 50-billion-reais ($8.7 billion) data center to support its subsidiary TikTok, with construction expected to begin within six months. It remains unclear if the Voltalia-led venture would be distinct from this previously announced project. A spokesperson for rival energy producer Casa dos Ventos, previously linked to the TikTok facility, told Bloomberg that no final agreement had been reached.
This potential collaboration underscores the strategic convergence of digital infrastructure and renewable energy in high-growth markets. For Voltalia, it represents a path to monetize constrained generation assets. For ByteDance, it could ensure a long-term, potentially green power supply for its expanding operations in a key regional market. However, large-scale developments in the region face scrutiny; both the Pecem complex and the planned TikTok data center have drawn legal challenges from indigenous communities and environmental groups over ecological and procedural concerns.
Source: datacenterdynamics
