An EDP solar farm in Romania. Image: EDP Renewables
EDP Renewables (EDPR) is aiming to cement its position in the UK renewables market, with plans to invest £660 million over the next five years.
This comes as part of a wider commitment to invest £12.86 billion in the UK by 2030, and follows the company entering the UK onshore market through the acquisition of two renewable energy portfolios in July with a combined forecast capacity of 544MW. Of this, 118MW is solar currently under development, with the remainder being a 5MW operating wind farm, 192MW of wind projects under advanced stage of development and 229MW of wind under development.
The acquisition of these portfolios strengthens the company’s presence in the UK, EDPR said, by diversifying and complementing its already established offshore operations, where it currently has 1GW of gross capacity under construction and 900MW under development, via Ocean Winds, a joint venture owned 50/50 by EDPR and ENGIE. Ocean Winds has already seen £2.65 billion of investment, which is separate to the £12.86 billion announced today (19 October).
In order to take on the projects it currently has under way in the UK, EDPR has a delegation of around 150 people in the country, with 120 of these being focused on developing offshore projects.
"We have an established position in the offshore market, now complemented by our entry into onshore and we will explore any further opportunities that allow us to continue to play a leading role in the UK’s energy transition," said Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade, CEO of EDP and EDPR.