EDP Renováveis with 74MW solar project in the US
EDP Renováveis (EDP Renewables in the US) has secured a 74 Megawatts solar energy project in the US state of North Carolina.
In a communiqué sent to the Portuguese regulator CMVM, the company states that it has “secured a photovoltaic solar power project with a 20 year Energy Purchase Contract.”
The project is located in the US state of North Carolina with operations planned to begin in 2022.
According to the company, “Given EDPR’s current operational solar assets and the 1.5 GW of solar projects already contracted, the EDPR portfolio will increase its technological diversification to achieve 1.8 GW of solar capacity in 2022”.
“With this new agreement, EDPR has assured 87% of around a 7.0 GW capacity build-out foreseen for the period of 2019-2022, as announced in the company’s Strategic Update of 12 March 2019.”
Wind project in Spain
Closer to home, and in the company’s wind energy segment, EDP Renováveis will install the Iberian Peninsula’s tallest wind towers in the area around Burgos in Spain.
Announced on 23 November, the wind turbines are 199,9 meters high up to the tip of the blades, surpassing the height of those operating at the floating wind farm Windfloat, off the coast of Viana do Castelo, which were already the tallest floating platform wind turbines in the world.
EDP Renováveis has started building Quintanilla II Wind Farm in Burgos, northern Spain, which will host the three tallest wind turbines in the Iberian Peninsula.
The wind towers will feature GE137 turbines with a 3.33MW capacity each, a diameter between blades of 137 meters, and a total height of 199,9 meters. They will be the fifth tallest structures in Spain, second only to the four Chamartín towers in Madrid. Compared to Portuguese buildings and structures, the turbines will be larger than 25 de Abril Bridge (Lisbon) and twice the height of Clérigos Tower (Porto).
With a capacity of about 10MW, Quintanilla II Wind Farm will generate enough clean energy to supply 10,000 homes a year.
From a technology and engineering perspective, the construction and development of this wind farm is an important milestone for the company and the entire sector, not only owing to the complexity of transporting these giant structures, but also due to the challenges posed by a project with these characteristics. For instance, the construction of each base for these wind towers requires 54 metric tons of iron. It also requires than 50 cement trucks — continuously.
EDP Renováveis has positioned itself as a pioneer in various aspects of the renewable energy sector. The company was actively involved in the creation of the first offshore wind farm off the Portuguese coast – Windfloat Atlantic -, which operates the largest turbines for floating structures available on the market. In Spain, EDP Renováveis was also the first company to use a helicopter crane to revamp Carondio Wind Farm in Asturias. And the company is also implementing several projects for storing renewable energy in batteries and hybrid farms, with the first prototype in Spain.
