A strong track record in 17 of EDP’s markets and the recent increase in distributed solar installations have enabled EDP to establish itself as a leader in this sector. The group has already installed 1.6 GWp worldwide.
Distributed solar generation (DG) has become one of EDP’s most dynamic business sectors — which is expected to account for nearly 50 per cent of all new solar capacity worldwide in the coming years. The group has committed to investing €2.5 billion by 2026 to install a further 4 GWc in solar projects, both behind-the-meter and front-of-the-meter, for households and businesses, thereby ensuring a decisive contribution to the energy transition.
EDP is already a global leader in DG solar and is a frontrunner amongst European-based players. With over ten years’ experience, the group has to date installed around 1.6 GWp of DG solar capacity for commercial and residential customers worldwide, including 0.9 GWc via the ‘as-a-service’ model (in which EDP covers 100 per cent of the initial investment and enters into a long-term PPA with the customer).
Operating Solar DG in 17 markets worldwide, the group has a strong track record and dedicated teams that have already deployed 127,000 installations in residential homes (in Europe) and in small businesses, as well as for large corporations, across Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, North America and Brazil. This success demonstrates EDP’s strong ability to secure customers worldwide, whilst contributing to a more sustainable planet for all.
“Distributed solar generation represents a tremendous opportunity to accelerate the energy transition alongside our customers. This sector can enable our customers to achieve significant energy savings efficiently, as it shortens authorisation and development times and accelerates the return on investment compared to larger-scale renewable energy projects, whilst meeting our customers’ growing aspirations for energy independence. “We are proud to be working with thousands of businesses and households to produce clean, reliable and affordable energy for everyone,” says Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade, CEO of EDP.
In Europe, the installed capacity of EDP’s solar division is expected to increase approximately fivefold by 2023–26. The recently announced partnership with Navigateur for a 17 MWp solar project demonstrates EDP’s ability to be a key partner for businesses tackling the challenge of the energy transition.
In the United States, there is significant potential to develop distributed generation projects for large commercial and industrial customers, and to support isolated energy communities. EDP is expected to see a five-fold increase in growth over the next three years, thanks to key commercial partnerships such as the largest corporate partnership ever signed for distributed generation between EDP Renewables and Google, and the recent partnership with Lufthansa to develop a distributed generation project in Puerto Rico.
In the Asia-Pacific region, EDP plans to triple its presence in solar distributed generation by 2026, driven by increasing decarbonisation targets and a strong industrial presence in the region. The company already has over 1.1 GWp in the pipeline and more than 150 MWp secured or under construction. Recently, in China, EDP developed and built its largest distributed generation project in the world, with a capacity of 19 MWp.
In Brazil, where EDP is already one of the top three players in the solar distributed generation sector, with a total of 205 MWac across plants in operation and under construction, the company is set to increase its capacity sixfold by 2026 compared with 2022, with a focus on off-grid solar communities.
At the same time, EDP is increasingly being chosen by international companies to develop multi-site, multi-country solar projects. Faurecia, a multinational automotive components group, has selected EDP to develop distributed generation projects simultaneously in Europe, Asia and the United States, across up to 60 sites.
The group is confident that this global growth will be underpinned by short time-to-market, flexibility in terms of grid connection, permits and the supply chain, as well as long-term price predictability, whilst addressing customers’ growing concerns about energy independence and offering a competitive solution to their energy needs.