EDP to supply Banco do Brasil with solar power

Energias de Portugal (EDP) has signed an agreement to install a 5 MW solar power plant in Januária, located in the state of Minas Gerais, south-east Brazil. The plant which will provide renewable energy to Banco do Brasil, the largest bank by assets in Brazil and all of Latin America.

This lease agreement will allow savings of about EUR18 million (US$20.7 million) to the institution for 15 years, translating into a 58% reduction in electricity costs. The plant will generate 11 GW per year, enough to supply 4,500 homes, and is expected to be up and running in the second half of next year.

The plant will consist of more than 15 thousand photovoltaic panels and will provide 100% renewable energy to 58 Banco do Brasil branches in the state of Minas Gerais. It is estimated that its construction will avoid the emission of more than 1000 tons of CO₂.

EDP will be responsible for the construction, operation and maintenance of the project, after winning a bid organized by Banco do Brasil. In the coming years, the institution intends to invest in two new plants in Minas Gerais and expand this model to the states of Goiás, Distrito Federal, Pará, Maranhão and Bahia.

This is EDP's largest distributed generation project modelled on the rental of photovoltaic systems.