China and Brazil last week signed a 30-year franchise agreement for a new, 1,468km high-voltage transmission line to bring renewable power from Brazil’s remote northeast to the more populated centre of the country.

Signing the concession at the Presidential Palace in Brasilia were the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency and State Grid Brazil Holding Company, a subsidiary of China’s State Grid Corporation, China’s CGTN reports.

It’s the biggest of several transmission projects Brazil auctioned in December, representing an investment of around $3.6bn (18 billion Brazilian reals).

China’s Ambassador to Brazil, Zhu Qingqiao, and Brazil’s energy minister Alexandre Silveira witnessed the signing.

The ultra-high-voltage direct current (UHVDC) line is expected to be operational by 2029.

It will transmit electricity generated by wind, solar, and hydropower in the northeast to an area with around 12 million people, including metropolitan Brasilia.