EDPR over equipped its largest wind farm in Portugal that is now capable of supplying electricity to 130,000 homes per year
The Alta da Coutada Wind Farm has been over equipped with state-of-the-art wind turbines, increasing its installed capacity to 187 MW, which further accelerates the country's energy transition. This project was already EDP Renewables’ largest in Portugal and will now be able to provide enough clean energy to power 130,000 homes.
Six state-of-the-art wind turbines are already operational at the Alta da Coutada Wind Farm, and they are expected to increase by 12% the annual production of EDP Renewables’ wind farm complex in Serra da Padrela, located in the municipalities of Vila Pouca de Aguiar and Valpaços in the Vila Real district.
It is estimated that the complex will produce over 420 GWh of renewable energy per year, sufficient to supply approximately 130,000 homes with carbon-free electricity. The newly added turbines will generate the equivalent energy required by 15,000 average homes. This project is expected to annually prevent the emission of 170,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.
The wind farm started operating in 2010 and initially had 72 wind turbines and an installed capacity of 165.6 MW, making it already one of the largest operating wind farms in Portugal. With the recent over-equipment, an additional six machines with a total extra capacity of 21.6 MW will come into operation, contributing further to renewable energy production at the site and the country's energy transition.
"Adding more power to an operational wind farm is currently one of the main focuses of EDP Renewables, which has been a pioneer in the development of renewable projects in Portugal and has several projects that can increase its contribution to the decarbonization of the country. By installing more wind turbines, we are providing more clean energy to the grid in a faster way, without the complexities associated with developing new projects," highlights Duarte Bello, EDP Renewables Chief Operating Officer for Europe and Latin America.
In late 2022, EDP Renewables added additional wind turbines to the Barão de São João Wind Farm in the Algarve, using two of the largest and most powerful turbines on the Iberian Peninsula for this expansion. The company has already performed similar expansions in 11 wind farms in Portugal and intends to continue exploring ways to add more renewable capacity to its operational projects. EDPR is currently evaluating the possibility of hybridizing the Alta da Coutada Wind Farm, incorporating photovoltaic generation into the complex, as it did at the Mosteiro wind farm in the Guarda district at the end of 2022, creating the first hybrid renewable farm on the Iberian Peninsula.