EDP considering reconversion of Pego coal-fired plant

Portuguese power utility EDP is considering bidding to convert the Pego coal-fired power plant in Abrantes, which is due to close on November 30, and will move forward if it gets a competitive proposal, said the chief executive, Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade.

The information was advanced to journalists by the leader of the EDP group, on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of the electric company’s first wind farm in Greece on Thursday, when asked about the company’s participation in the third solar energy auction, which kicks off today.

“We will participate. We will look at all the auction processes that may appear. […] We have a particular interest in looking at the hybrid part, the floating ones, for example, and we are also looking at the opportunity of the Pego power plant,” Stilwell d’Andrade advanced.

However, the decision is not yet closed, as the public tender launched by the government for the reconversion of the infrastructure runs until 11:59 pm on January 17 2022, after the extension of the deadline for submitting proposals by three months.

“If there are conditions and, if we think we can put a competitive proposal on the table, we will do it,” the official added.

Not wanting to anticipate a proposal that does not yet exist, EDP’s chief executive pointed out that, if it happened, it would involve the renewable energy component and could also involve a hydrogen component.

On September 17, the government announced the opening of the public tender to allocate the injection point at the Pego power plant, currently occupied by the coal-fired unit, which stopped producing last Friday, with an installed capacity of 628 megawatts.

The auction for 262 megawatts (MW) of floating solar power at seven dams in Portugal (Alqueva, Castelo de Bode, Cabril, Alto Rabagão, Paradela, Salamonde and Tabuaço) begins today and ends on 29 January, the Minister for the Environment and Climate Action, João Pedro Matos Fernandes announced on Wednesday.

Regarding the ‘green’ hydrogen project in Sines, Green H2 Atlantic, which will be coordinated by EDP Renováveis (EDPR) and which aims to create a gigawatt (GW) of green hydrogen production capacity, Stilwell d’Andrade does not foresee an investment decision in the short term.

For the CEO of EDP and EDPR, hydrogen technology is still very embryonic, and it is necessary to make a technical and economic analysis of the project.

However, he continued, the consortium “is working” and has “some indication of support from Brussels.