A consortium led by French energy giant ENGIE has won a €2.2bn tender issued by Portuguese energy company Energias de Portugal (EDP).
ENGIE, French insurance company Crédit Agricole Assurances and sustainability investment firm Mirova have acquired 1.7 GW of hydropower plants, the second largest hydroelectric portfolio in Portugal.
It includes three recently-commissioned pump storage systems as well as three renovated run-of-river plants.
The acquisition falls under efforts by ENGIE and its partners to invest in renewable energy projects and the energy transition.
ENGIE will be in charge of the operation and management of the hydroelectric portfolio and will also provide energy management services. ENGIE has a current global hydroelectric capacity of 20GW and is the second-largest engineering company in the world for hydroelectric projects.
Thanks to this transaction, ENGIE will be able to offer its customers green as consumed electricity purchase contracts.
ENGIE owns 40 per cent of the consortium, while Crédit Agricole Assurances and Mirova, via managed funds, hold 35 and 25 per cent respectively. The closing of the transaction is expected in the second half of 2020.
ENGIE managing director Isabelle Kocher said: “This transaction accelerates the implementation of ENGIE’s strategy of being the leader in the zero-carbon transition, by placing more emphasis on supplying our customers 100 per cent renewable energy adapted to their needs. Our objective to add 9 GW of renewable energy over the period 2019 – 2021 is confirmed and this acquisition is added to it.”
