Brookfield Asset Management has received approval from CADE to begin construction on solar energy projects in the Brazilian state of Ceará. The projects will have a combined capacity to produce 278 MW of electricity upon completion.

(Reuters) Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management Inc has received the go-ahead from Brazilian antitrust regulator Cade for certain solar energy projects in the country’s northeast, according to a decision published in the government’s official gazette on Tuesday.

The solar power plants, to be built in the state of Ceará, will have total capacity to produce 278 MW of electricity, according to a description of the projects in Cade’s decision.

The move underscores Brookfield’s drive to expand its presence in Brazil’s electricity sector, where it operates hydro power dams, wind farms and electricity transmission assets.

Brookfield did not immediately reply to a request for comment. (Reporting by Luciano Costa Writing by Ana Mano; Editing by Bernadette Baum)