EDP has just signed a global partnership to install up to 100 MWp of solar energy in units of Faurecia, in Europe, Asia, and the United States. By the end of 2023, it aims to install more than 60 solar self-consumption parks in the multinational’s factories in Portugal, Spain, Italy, the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, and Thailand. This is the biggest project of distributed solar energy ever done by Group EDP, and the first that is installed simultaneously with the same partner in various continents.

Faurecia, company specialized in the production of automotive components and with global presence, will start consuming renewable energy produced in its own installations, significatively reducing its dependance to electrical grid. This association is also an important step towards Faurecia’s goals of reducing progressively the carbon footprint in its industrial operations (scope 1 and 2).

This partnership is based on an As-a-Service model, with EDP overseeing the investment, as well as the maintenance and the operation, and establishing long-term contracts adjusted to the local needs of each one of Faurecia’s markets. It is expected that more than 60 projects may get to have altogether up to 200 000 solar panels and avoid more than 60 000 tons of CO2 during the following decade.

In Europe and Brazil, EDP is reaching record figures for contracted distribution generation and has installed around 300 MWp in buildings and corporate and household soils through Commercial EDP. The company has been growing in this segment in several European markets, through organic growth and acquisitions, as has recently happened in Poland, through Soon Energy, or in Italy, with the purchase of Enertel. In the United States and Asia-Pacific, EDP has recently entered distributed solar energy through Renewable EDP, with the purchase of the north American C2 Omega, and the Asian Sunseap, respectively. This association is an important step towards this segment’s consolidation in those markets.

Meanwhile, in Spain, where the partnership with Faurecia will entail the installation of 11.31 MWp, EDP has a portfolio with solar projects, contracted since the beginning of their activity, in households and corporations throughout the country, of 107.3 MWp. The self-consumption, which is nowadays one of the energy solutions with more saving potential, will prevent the annual emission of more than 619 000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere in our country, which implies a positive impact in the air quality, similar the one that would be generated by more than 46 million new trees.

“This agreement reinforces EDP’s capacity to respond to multinational clients, who desire to choose distribution generation solutions in different countries, apart from contributing to energy transition at a global scale. When summing 100 MWp of contracted solar capacity, EDP is a step closer to achieving a growth of 10x by 2025”, states Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade, CEO of Group EDP.

“Producing renewable energy in our installations is a priority commitment to fulfill our goal of becoming CO2 neutral by 2025 in our internal emissions. Taking advantage of this strategical collaboration with global partners and sector leaders allows us to accelerate and improve our energy resilience in a more sustainable way. Moreover, it reflects our corporate responsibility of having a positive impact in society and of satisfying the needs of the future generations”, declares Patrick Koller, CEO of Faurecia.

Distributed generation is one of the cornerstones of EDP’s growth for this decade, having as goal to install more than 2GW in households and corporates by 2025, contributing therefore to the increasement of renewable energy production, as well as the access of more people to green energy sources.