EDP announces purchase of 16 new solar plants for 218 million reais

This is an automated translation of the original release published in Portuguese.

By EDP

November 6, 2024

EDP, a company that operates in all segments of the Brazilian electricity sector, announced the purchase of 16 new distributed solar generation plants for R$218 million. The contract was signed with the Tangipar Group and includes projects in the states of Bahia, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Paraná, with a total installed capacity of 44.3 MWp. The transaction is awaiting approval by the Brazilian Council for Economic Defense (CADE).

With this investment, EDP is advancing its strategy of leading the energy transition and further expanding its operations in distributed solar generation, including entering a new market, Mato Grosso. By 2026, the company expects to reach an installed capacity of approximately 500 MWp, with annual investments of approximately R$600 million. Once the deal is completed, the new plants will join the company's current portfolio, which currently includes 90 distributed generation solar plants in Brazil, with a total installed capacity of 258 MWp. Of this total, 76 plants (209 MWp) are in operation, and 14 plants (49 MWp) are under construction or awaiting energization.

“Distributed solar generation represents a huge opportunity to accelerate the energy transition together with our customers. More than expanding our operations and capacity in renewable sources to become 100% green by 2030, we want to make solar energy more accessible to a wide range of consumers,” says Carlos Andrade, Vice President of Customer Solutions at EDP in South America.

Regarding the assets acquired in this transaction, five plants are completed and 11 are under construction, with completion scheduled for 2025. Regarding installed capacity, 10.9 MWp are in Bahia, 12.5 MWp in Mato Grosso, 12.9 MWp in Mato Grosso do Sul and 7.7 MWp in Paraná. The plants will be able to serve low-voltage customers in shared and dedicated distributed generation modalities.

Distributed Solar Generation

EDP currently operates distributed solar generation in ten Brazilian states (BA, ES, GO, MG, MS, PE, PR, RJ, SP and RS), in addition to the Federal District. This is a modality that allows the generation of renewable electricity close to the point of consumption, and can be the plant dedicated to one customer or shared among several customers, as long as they are all in the same concession area as the plant. The energy generated is injected into the local distributor's electricity grid and transformed into credits that are offset on the customer's bill.

The increased awareness among companies in different sectors that intend to decarbonize their businesses and make their operations more sustainable through the use of renewable energy has contributed to boosting demand for distributed generation. In addition to the gains in sustainability, the savings on energy costs, which can be more than 10%, are also an attractive feature.