EDP to build country’s largest self-consumption solar farm for Navigator
Decentralised solar energy projects, both in private homes and business buildings, are one of the main growth areas in EDP's strategy for the coming years.
Navigator, Portugal’s leading paper manufacturer, has chosen EDP Comercial, an arm of Energias de Portugal (EDP), to install what is set to be the country’s largest solar farm for self-consumption, with a maximum potential output of 17 Megawatts peak (MWp), at the company’s industrial complex in Figueira da Foz, it was announced on Thursday.
“When installed, the solar park will have the size of 17 football fields and will be the largest for EDP’s self-consumption in Portugal,” EDP said in a statement about the contract with The Navigator Company to install 26,000 solar panels at the paper producer’s complex in Figueira da Foz, in Coimbra district. “It will have the capacity to produce 26 GWh [Gigawatt-hours] of electricity per year, renewable energy that would be enough to supply around 10,500 families annually.”
According to the same note, the project will avoid the emission of over 7,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.
“In addition to its size, this power plant is also distinguished by its innovative character on the national scene, being one of the first to use solar panels with bifacial modules, a technology that allows both sides of the panel to retain sunlight, increasing the capacity of the park up to 30%,” said EDP.
Navigator’s chief executive, quoted in the statement, stressed out that “solar energy is a very important part of the company’s decarbonisation strategy, which aims for 80% of the primary energy consumed to be of renewable origin” by 2030.
Also quoted in the statement, EDP executive director Vera Pinto Pereira stressed that “this project, the largest EDP has undertaken in Portugal to date, will make a relevant contribution to the decarbonisation of that industry and area of the country.”
Decentralised solar energy projects, both in private homes and business buildings, are one of the main growth areas in EDP’s strategy for the coming years.
