EDP Partners with GPA to Deliver Solar Energy in Brazil

Portuguese utility group EDP Energias de Portugal SA announced on Monday a two-year agreement with Brazilian retail group Companhia Brasileira de Distribuicao, or simply GPA, encompassing the supply of solar energy.

The contract provides for the supply of 16.8 GWh (701.85 MWh/month), from 2024 to 2026, from photovoltaic plants located in the municipalities of Lorena, Santa Adélia, Leme, Pirangi and Iperó, in the interior of São Paulo state. With the transaction, GPA should avoid the emission of 648.5 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) by the end of the contract.

GPA, which owns the brands Pao de Acucar and Extra, will receive 16.8 GWh of solar power from 2024 to 2026, equivalent to about 701.85 MWh per month, from shared distributed generation (DG) photovoltaic (PV) plants located in the interior of Sao Paulo state.

"Our goal is to increasingly evolve in the environmental management of our business, seeking sustainable and efficient solutions, not only in the energy field – as we are doing with EDP – but throughout the production chain. By choosing to use energy from photovoltaic plants, we reinforce the importance of the energy transition to lower impact and low-carbon grids," explains Renata Amaral, Sustainability Manager at GPA.

By 2026, EDP aims to achieve an installed solar capacity of about 500 MWp in Brazil, with annual investments of R$ 600 million. Currently, the company operates 90 solar plants with a total capacity of 258 MWp, including 76 plants (209 MWp) in operation, primarily for shared generation. Additionally, 14 plants (49 MWp) are under construction or waiting for energization.