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

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)