EDP has awarded today, through the execution of a turn-key contract with a consortium integrated by Alstom and Duro Felguera, the construction a new CCGT plant, named Soto5, to be located in Soto de Ribera, in Asturias.

The new CCGT group will have an installed capacity of 424MW, representing an investment of €280 million. The co-location with existing Soto 4 plant will allow to reap operational synergies, namely through the use of several common infrastructures. The construction works should start in the course of the current quarter and the beginning of commercial operations is expected to occur during the first quarter of 2011.

This new CCGT will be the fourth installed in Spain, boosting the total CCGT production capacity to 1.6GW in Spain, and 3.7GW in Iberia by 2011.

This investment is part of EDP?s strategy to further diversify its generation mix in Iberia, significantly reducing the level of CO2 emissions per MWh of electricity generated, as a result of the use of cleaner electricity generation technologies.

EDP - Energias de Portugal, S.A.