Norwegian energy company Statoil said it was expanding its footprint in the Brazilian energy market even further, this time with solar energy.

Statoil in July signed up with a regional partner to take a 10 percent stake in a license area in the lucrative Santos basin, bringing the hold for the Norwegian energy major up to 76 percent in the $379 million deal. The company already claims ownership over the Peregrino oil field in the Campos basin off the coast of Brazil alongside Chinese energy company Sinochem.

For $25 million, the company said it signed an agreement to take a 40 percent stake in the Adopi solar project in Brazil from Scatec Solar, a Norwegian independent solar power producer.

"Brazil is a core area for Statoil where our ambition is to deliver safe and sustainable growth in a significant energy market," Irene Rummelhoff, the executive vice president of new energy solutions at Statoil, said in a statement.

Corporate officials working in the Brazilian renewable energy sector said the solar power capacity is "immense," with about 160 gigawatts of solar power installed on rooftops alone. Statoil said Brazil was an attractive market for solar power, with 3 GW worth of contracts awarded recently at the utility-scale. Another 7 GW will be awarded in the next seven years.

The shovel-ready Adopi project will support the electricity needs of about 160,000 average households at peak capacity once it's up and running next year.

"The Apodi asset is a sensible first step into the solar industry and can demonstrate how solar can provide Statoil with scaleable and profitable growth opportunities," Rummelhoff said.

Statoil's investment in solar power followed a report from the International Energy Agency that found new energy on the global grid from the sun expanded more than any other type of fuel. The IEA said coal will still be the largest source of electricity generation in 2022, though "renewables close the generation gap with coal by half in just five years."

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