EDP will build a 5 MW solar farm in the city of Januária, Minas Gerais, to supply Banco do Brasil with renewable energy. This rental agreement will allow Banco do Brasil to save approximately €18 million (R$82 million) over a 15-year period, which will translate into a 58% reduction in electricity costs for Brazil's largest public bank. The farm will generate 11 GW per year - enough to supply 4500 homes - and is expected to be in operation in the second half of the coming year.

The farm will comprise more than 15,000 solar panels and will supply 100% renewable energy to 58 Banco do Brasil branches across the state of Minas Gerais. The annual consumption of clean energy from this solar farm is expected to offset over 1000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

EDP, which has created a department for the development of self-production and distributed generation solar farms, will be in charge of the construction, operation and maintenance of this project, after winning a tender held by Banco do Brasil. The institution is planning to invest in two other farms in Minas Gerais in the coming years and to expand this model to the states of Goiás, Distrito Federal, Pará, Maranhão, and Bahia.

"The signing of this agreement with Banco do Brasil represents the consolidation of EDP's position in the solar energy segment. This is the company's largest distributed generation project in the photovoltaic systems rental segment, and it is highly symbolic because the agreement has been signed with one of the country's major financial institutions," said EDP Brasil President Miguel Setas. "Aside from an economically competitive model, we offer the expertise and credibility of a company that operates throughout the electricity sector's entire value chain," he added.

In the first half of the year EDP has also signed the country's largest energy retail agreement with Banco do Brasil. This partnership will supply some of the institution's most important buildings, generating savings of 30% in energy costs.

About EDP in Brazil

With more than 20 years' experience, EDP Brasil is one of the largest private companies in the electricity sector operating across the entire value chain. With over 10,000 direct and outsourced employees, the company operates in the energy transmission, production and trading segments and owns 15 hydroelectric units and one thermoelectric plant.