Audax Renovables S.A. has finalized an agreement with WElink Investment Holdings (Ireland) Ltd. marking a historic milestone in the European energy market for photovoltaic solar technology generation.
The framework agreement for the purchase of electric power (PPA) with WElink has been set for 20 years at a fixed price and Audax will acquire the energy produced at the Solara4, Ourika and other new photovoltaic projects to be developed by WElink Group, both in Spain and in Portugal, with a total estimated installed power of 708 MW. The Solara4 plant, which is being built in Alcoutim (Algarve), is set for connection to the grid by mid-2019. It will comprise 700,000 high efficiency solar modules and will be the largest subsidized solar plant in Europe supported through a Private long-term PPA. The facility will have a capacity of 218.8 MWp, will create an average of 300 jobs during its construction and will generate enough energy to supply renewable energy to more than 100,000 homes.
According to data from the Government of Portugal, 31 new photovoltaic plants accounting for 1,100 megawatts (MW) in total are planned for installation in Portugal until 2021. Audax will manage 267 MWp of the total, that is, a quarter of all new photovoltaic solar plants in Portugal.
This plant adds to the Ourika, located in the south of Portugal, which is also developed by WElink Group and represented by Audax Renovables S.A. With a capacity of 46 MWp it spreads over a surface equivalent to 100 football fields, and comprises more than 142,000 high-efficiency photovoltaic panels for a production capacity of 82 GWh / year, which currently makes it Portugal largest solar photovoltaic power plant.
Audax Renovables in the European market
This PPA contributes to consolidate Audax Renovables S.A. position in the European market and especially in the Portuguese, where it holds the sixth position as a supplier of small businesses and the seventh marketer of industrial customers, according to the Liberalized Electricity Market Report (December 2018) published by ERSE, Entidade Reguladora dos Serviços Energéticos. The contract will cover a large part of the energy that Audax needs to supply its customers in Portugal, and allow it to offer 100% greenhouse gas emissions-free renewable energy. At a global level, the amount of energy covered by PPA is equivalent to only 25% of the total energy sold by the Audax Group.
According to data from the Government of Portugal, until 2021 Portugal is expected to build 31 new photovoltaic plants, totalling 1,100 megawatts (MW) of which Audax will manage 267 MWp, that is, Audax will manage a quarter of all new photovoltaic plants in Portugal.
Other Audax operations
In March 2018 Audax already signed a PPA with COX ENERGY, a contract that also marked a historic milestone in the global energy market being the largest agreement signed for the purchase of energy produced with photovoltaic solar technology to date, which now has been overcome by the current one. The PPA with COX ENERGY covers a total volume of 660 MW of installed power, sufficient to supply some 1,300 GW / hr of renewable or green energy to 360,000 homes.
The goal of Audax Renovables is to continue betting in the future on renewable energies and to secure new PPAs (Power Purchase Agreement) projects that will provide it acompetitively advantageous position in the global energy market.
