EDP's call to action: joining forces now for a better tomorrow
NYC Climate Week 2024 is an important opportunity for governments, companies and civil society to gather, reflect and take further action to successfully transition to a clean energy era and ensure a more sustainable planet. It is also a moment for businesses to show how they are contributing to this transition and the solutions that must be implemented to win this battle. This requires massive scaling of renewables and innovative solutions and technologies, as well as the collective support of communities around the world.
EDP has a bold ambition. Having generated 98% of our energy from renewable sources in the first half of 2024, we are focused on our commitments to reach coal-free generation by 2025, all green by 2030 and net zero by 2040. And we are delivering on our pledges: two decades ago, EDP’s energy mix was predominantly thermal and today the company is an example of how the business can be transformed while ensuring sustainable growth.
EDP will be sharing groundbreaking projects focusing on three key pillars: circularity, hybridization and innovation.
Embracing the circular economy
Our 'Close the Loop' program in North America embodies our commitment to a circular economy, looking carefully at resource scarcity and how to reduce waste to minimize our environmental footprint. Being the largest circularity partnership program in the industry, with more than 20 stakeholders, this program works by promoting efficiency in the product life cycle, including blades and solar panels. Through this program, which has already recovered 72% of total waste generated from EDP’s global operations in 2023, we are paving the way for a sustainable future that benefits both the communities we service and the planet at large.
Harnessing the power of hybridization
The groundbreaking Alqueva project in Portugal is the highlight of our hybridization efforts, integrating hydro and solar energy sources on a single site while optimizing land use and energy output. Alqueva has paved the way for many other hybrid projects, including our solar and wind parks in Portugal, Poland and Spain, with a combined capacity of more than 200 MW to power thousands of households and businesses.
Driving innovation for progress
Innovation is the key enabler for a faster and more effective contribution to the energy transition. And partnerships are a powerful way of escalating such impact. As an example, the partnership with Rondo Energy offers advanced energy storage solutions that turn renewable energy into heat. It significantly contributes to accelerating the decarbonization of energy-intensive industries that use high-temperature industrial heat.
We are delivering on our pledges: two decades ago, EDP’s energy mix was predominantly thermal and today the company is an example of how the business can be transformed while ensuring sustainable growth.
Together we can make a difference
We believe the energy transition must be just and inclusive. Our teams are working every day to find innovative ways to involve communities in the transition and to enable access to energy to as many people as possible. We see fear and misconceptions often leading to NIMBYism (Not in My Backyard mindset) and we see it as our responsibility to foster an open and transparent dialogue with local communities to overcome it.
And we believe we must call on governments to provide the regulatory stability needed to support investment in renewable energy and tackle bottlenecks in areas such as licensing, permitting, and grid interconnections. We also urge businesses and individuals to embrace sustainable practices and advocate for the transition to clean energy.
Climate Week NYC 2024 provides a unique opportunity for collaboration around all these fundamental levers of the transition to a clean energy era. That is why we are excited to be part, once again, of this global event.
The time for action is now.
Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade, CEO