EDP Renewables plans €20 billion investments to supercharge portfolio

The company said the new investments will fund the roll out of more than 4GW of new wind and solar projects every year between 2023 and 2026, for 17GW of new installed capacity.

A total of 85% of the funding will go towards wind and solar projects with the remainder set to be allocated for electricity networks across “fast-growing and low-risk” markets such as Europe and the Americas.

Wind projects alone will receive 40% of the new investment, EDPR said. The company plans to install 5GW of onshore wind and an additional 700MW of offshore wind between 2023 and 2026.

EDPR touted their recent growth in offshore wind in particular as indicative of their ambition to roll out renewable energy faster and in greater quantities.

The company’s joint Ocean Winds venture already boasts a 16.6GW pipeline which it said “provides strong visibility on growth post 2026”.

In the presentation released by EDPR the utility claimed forthcoming seabed tenders in Ocean Winds’ core markets (Europe, the US, and Asia-Pacific excluding China) could meanwhile equate to as much as 70GW of additional offshore wind.

The company currently has 25MW of offshore wind already operational in Portugal, with an additional 30MW under construction in France and 5.6GW of other projects now being developed in the UK, California, and South Korea.

Globally, EDPR said the projected €20 billion investment would be targeted at roll out in “low-risk” markets in Europe, North America, South America and Asia-Pacific.

North America will receive 40% of the new funding to install 7.4GW of new capacity, with Europe also receiving 40% for 5.6GW of additional installed energy. South America will receive 15% for additions of 2.2GW, and Asia-Pacific the remaining 5% for an additional 1.2GW.

EDPR said it was considering the sale of around €1 billion in stocks to help fund the proposals, with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC reportedly committed to investing around €1 billion.

The issue price agreed with GIC was based on a range of €19.25 to €20.50, EDPR said.

The additional funding would come from asset rotation, organic cash flow, and a net debt change including a dividends cash out.

In the longer term, EDPR said it aims for an even more ambitious roll out of renewable energy. The company said it aims for 50GW of gross additions of renewable projects between 2021 and 2030.