EDP to Invest EUR 24 Bn in Energy Transition, Eyeing 50 GW RE Capacity by 2030

EDP has announced its Strategic Update for the period 2021-2025, revealing a EUR 24 billion plan for investment in the energy transition

EDP – Energias de Portugal – the Portuguese electric utility has announced its Strategic Update for the period 2021-2025, reinforcing its position as a leader of the energy transition, with an unprecedented EUR 24 billion plan for investment in the energy transition. 80 percent of this investment will be in renewables, improving its portfolio across technologies – wind, solar, hydrogen and storage, with a commitment to deploy 4 GW per year and double solar and wind capacity by 2025. The new plan, the firm expects, will pave the way for the company to become carbon neutral by 2030.

The plan is underpinned by three strategic axes – accelerated and sustainable growth; a future-proof organization, powered by increased investment in innovation and digital transformation; and the delivery of ESG excellence and attractive returns.

Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade, CEO of EDP said, “this plan is a bold and ambitious commitment and unprecedented acceleration of growth in renewables building on our strong track record. The global challenge presented by climate change requires a different mindset, ambition and, above all, measurable action. For EDP, it’s not just about powering communities, it’s about empowering our communities, to live more sustainable lives.”

Through accelerated and sustainable growth, the utility will keep improving its portfolio, while ensuring a low-risk profile and aiming towards a solid investment grade rating (BBB). It is accelerating its investment focused on renewables in Europe and North America, building on its track record as a renewables leader. The company plans to invest EUR 24 billion to 2025, of which 80 percent in Renewables, 15 percent in Networks and 5 percent in Client Solutions & Energy Management.

In wind & solar, EDP will double installed capacity in the next 5 years, from 12 GW to 25 GW in 2025, representing an average of 4 GW additions per year. In solar generation, EDP aims to grow its global presence tenfold. With this ambition, EDP is setting a commitment to continue leading the energy transition from the front: EDP expects to be totally coal-free by 2025 and all green by 2030, anticipating its carbon-neutral targets by 20 years.

The utility will also step-up investment on its digital and innovative profile: EUR 2 billion will be invested in the digital transformation of the business and in innovation by 2025, to deliver new solutions across hydrogen, storage, smart grids, energy communities and e-mobility and further empower and connect a global and flexible team of diverse talent.

Following up on that announcement, the firm has also revealed that its subsidiary EDP Brasil has signed a contract for the purchase of AES Inova, AES Brazil’s distributed generation investment platform. The total investment is R$177 million (about 26 million euros). With this operation, EDP – which operates in all segments of the electric sector in the Brazilian market – doubled the size of its project portfolio in the solar energy segment.