Spanish wind giant commits to 4GW of new renewables a year, including in Asia Pacific

Spain-based wind energy giant EDP Renewables has announced it will invest €20 billion over the next four years in an effort to add more than 4GW per year of new utility-scale solar and wind.

EDP Renewables currently boasts 14.7GW of installed renewable energy capacity (as at the end of 2022) and a further 4GW under construction. But the company, headquartered in Madrid, is planning to ramp up capacity with forecasts of more than 4GW per year, and a total of 17GW gross additions until 2026.

Focusing on utility-scale solar and wind, EDP Renewables expects to double its installed wind and solar capacity by 2026. 40% of its planned €20 billion will be spent on onshore wind and a further 40% on utility-scale solar.

The remaining 20% of EDP Renewables’ planned investment will back emerging technologies such as distributed solar, storage, and hydrogen.

New capacity additions will be focused on “core low risk markets” such as North America (7.4 GW of new capacity), Europe (5.6 GW), South America (2.2 GW), the Asia Pacific region (1.2 GW). A further 700MW is expected to be built in unnamed offshore development.

“Today we ramp up our ambition to lead the energy transition supported by a competitive and resilient portfolio, strong financials, an empowered team and the will to contribute to a climate positive world for the coming generations,” said Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade, CEO of EDP and EDP Renewables.

“This Business Plan reinforces our growth ambition, while pushing even further our commitment to the planet and creating superior value for all.”

While the Asia Pacific region will not be EDP’s biggest priority, Australia has already been listed as a potential location for EDP’s expansion. In September 2022 EDP Renewables and French energy giant Engie were reportedly eyeing plans to take their joint venture, Ocean Winds, Down Under.

The Australian Financial Review reported that Ocean Winds was “considering its own offshore wind development in Gippsland, which has attracted nearly a dozen development plans.”

Globally, EDP Renewables plans to hire 1,500 new employees by 2026 on its way to being coal free by 2025, all green by 2030, and net zero by 2040 – targets approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative.