The largest European solar plant by EDP Renováveis (EDPR) was inaugurated today in Portugal: 202 megawatts (MW). This plant is part of the projects that arose from the first solar auction in the country that took place in 2019.
“It was with pride that we put Central da Cerca into operation, a project that EDP committed to delivering despite the complex context of recent years, with the impacts of the pandemic, the geopolitical situation and the rise in raw material costs in the sector energy. This is our largest solar project in Europe, an energy source that Portugal must significantly harness to accelerate its energy transition. At EDP, we are looking at dozens of new solar projects that will allow us to make an important contribution to this path”, said Duarte Bello, administrator of EDP Renováveis for Europe and Latin America, in a statement.
But this is not the largest solar plant in Portugal: first place belongs to the Solara4 plant in Alcoutim, district of Faro.
Despite being completed, it is currently in the experimental period and has not yet entered the exploration period. For now, it is subject to the market rate, and will receive the 2019 auction rate (20.8 euros/MWh), as soon as it enters the exploration phase, JE found.
In June 2021, the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) issued a favorable Environmental Impact Statement (DIA), but subject to conditions being met.
“In view of the results of the development, considering the negative impacts identified, generally susceptible to minimization, and the expected positive impacts, a favorable decision is issued for the project, subject to the terms and conditions imposed in this document”, according to the APA opinion.
Before this project, the electricity company only had 13 MW of solar energy installed in Portugal.
In 2023, the company also completed the Monte de Vez solar project, totaling 21 MW. Before this project and the Cerca plant, there was only 13 MW of solar energy installed in Portugal.
Globally, the electricity company installed more than 1.3 gigawatts of photovoltaic solar energy in Portugal in 2023. In terms of wind, 1.2 gigawatts were installed. All together, the electricity company installed a total of 2.5 gigawatts of renewable energy (+ 1.8 gigawatts compared to the same period) last year for a total of 16.5 gigawatts.
Of the more than 16 gigs of capacity, 80% corresponds to wind onshore, 13% from photovoltaic solar, 5% from decentralized solar and 2% from offshore wind. Last year, the company produced 4% more electricity to 34,593 GWh.
In the 2019 auction, 23 lots were allocated corresponding to 26 projects totaling 1,300 MVA of connection power. In an assessment made for the JE at the beginning of the year, the Ministry of the Environment stated that “all projects” had obtained production licenses, with 22 obtaining municipal construction licenses and 12 being built, with the latter representing a connection power of 429 MVA.
Iberdrola announced in December that it had already completed all of its lots (seven) from the 2019 auction. The Spanish firm Solaria also completed all four of its lots, as did the Spanish firm Dos Grados (110 MW) and the French firm Total Energies. (100MW).
EDP opens second hybrid plant in Portugal
EDP opened its second hybrid plant in Portugal in February. This plant consists of a solar plant (Monte de Vez) that was installed next to a wind plant already in operation (São João), allowing almost doubling of production at this location.
The wind plant has 23 MW of capacity, with the solar plant having 21 MWp, producing 79 GWh of renewable energy per year, enough to supply 23 thousand families.
In this way, the project – located in the municipalities of Penela, district of Coimbra, and Ansião, district of Leiria – now has 36 thousand bifacial solar panels and 13 wind turbines.
The idea behind hybrid plants is to make the most of solar energy during the day and wind energy at night to make the plant’s operation profitable 24 hours a day, without the need to have a connection point to the grid with power equivalent to plant, which may be lower, because the plant’s power will not be producing at 100% throughout the day.
“We are proud to once again be pioneers in Portugal and put into operation the second hybrid park in the country, taking advantage of the region’s wind and sun to increase the consumption of renewable energy. This project is part of EDP’s strategy to continue accelerating the national energy transition, whether by investing in new renewable projects or optimizing those that have already served the regions where they are located. We will continue to develop hybrid projects in Portugal and hope to implement another 700 MW in similar projects in the coming years”, said Hugo Costa, head of EDP Renováveis in Portugal, in a statement.
EDP’s first hybrid plant in Portugal was inaugurated in January 2023, consisting of the Mina de Orgueirel Photovoltaic Plant and the Mosteiro Wind Farm, in the municipality of Guarda, with capacity to supply 11 thousand homes.
The company has a plan to develop more than 1,600 MW in hybrid projects in Portugal and Spain.
