Today, EDP, a company that operates across all segments of the country’s electricity industry, and Sunew, a global leader in Organic Photovoltaic Film (OPV) manufacturing, have signed an agreement to deploy around 2 thousand square meters of adhesive OPVs at EDP customers’ facilities. Around 600 square meters will be deployed at the Espírito Santo Federation of Industries (Findes), located in the Santa Lúcia neighborhood of Vitória. This is the world’s largest adhesive OPV project.

Scheduled to begin in May, the initiative is part of an EDP project for the National Electricity Energy Agency (Aneel) R&D program to develop new solutions for the electricity industry. Roughly R$ 5.15 million will be invested installing the cells at customer facilities in EDP concession areas in both Espírito Santo and São Paulo. Project development is expected to take 20 months.

“Partnering with Sunew on this project will help scale up adhesive OPV technology, adding value to clean energy generation. As a versatile solution that can be adapted for use on building facades and skylights, it could be used to expand EDP’s customer service portfolio in the near future”, said Fernando Saliba, Head of EDP Grid, EDP’s solar energy solutions company in Brazil.

Sustainable technology

At the organic photovoltaic panels are made of cells capable of generating electricity from sunlight. The adhesive film is lightweight, flexible and transparent, is able to adapt to several types of structure and can be installed in places traditional technologies cannot be used. At the Findes building, the cells will be installed on the glass facade  (vertical application) and rooftop (horizontal application). Once installed, the adhesive film will prevent up 245 tons of CO₂  emissions.

 This Sunew product is the greenest solar power technology available, as it requires less energy to make than any of its alternatives (only 1.4Mj/Wp) and presents the smallest carbon footprint (10 to 20 times lower than traditional solar power technologies). The adhesive films require less energy to produce, are made of non-toxic organic material and use printing methods similar to those employed in the textile industry.

“One of our goals here at Findes is to promote a culture of innovation. If we want innovative businesses and entrepreneurs, we need innovation at a more basic level, adding solutions such as the photovoltaic panels we are installing on our facade. This technology is also clean and sustainable, offers economic and environmental benefits and reflects current trends as well as our vision for future generations”, said Léo de Castro, President of Findes.

Applications

In addition to deploying this technology at the Findes headquarters, EDP will also deploy around 600 meters of OPV at its own headquarters in Espírito Santo, 300 square meters at its business center in São Paulo and another 400 square meters at the São José dos Campos Technological Complex.

“This partnership between EDP and Sunew aims to underline both companies’ sustainable development goals, combining clean energy generation with design and innovation. EDP will decrease yearly CO2 emissions by around 80 tons by deploying 2 thousand square meters of OPV. This is a significant contribution to society and its end customers”, said Tiago Alves, CEO of Sunew.

Similar to other photovoltaic technologies, OPV panels are capable of converting light into electrical energy and can be used alongside traditional photovoltaic panels. However, OPV cells have a number of advantages, such as lowering a building’s temperature, reducing the need for air-conditioning; blocking infrared and ultraviolet radiation; and their ease of installation and maintenance.

“After deploying drones to monitor our systems and building an electrical vehicle recharging network, OPV adhesives are the next innovative solution EDP is pioneering in Espírito Santo”, said João Brito, Head of EDP ES.

R&D initiative certified by Aneel

Aneel’s R&D program aims to provide appropriate allocation of human and financial resources to original, practical, relevant and economically feasible projects for energy processes and uses.

After producing and installing the film, the company will monitor the photovoltaic technology to gather data and assess its performance. After reviewing the data, a scientific article addressing OPV panel performance will be produced. EDP and Sunew will also provide technical follow-ups and quarterly reports to monitor the study and keep Aneel informed.

About EDP in Brazil

EDP has over 20 years’ experience and is one of the biggest private-sector companies operating across the entire value chain. The Company has over 10,000 direct and indirect staff and is involved in energy Generation, Distribution, Transmission, Sales and Services. The company has six hydro power plants and one thermal power station that services around 3.4 million people in the states of São Paulo and Espírito Santo. The Company recently acquired a stake in CELESC, from Santa Catarina. In Brazil, the company is noted for its Innovation, Governance and Sustainability and has been included in the B3 Business Sustainability Index (BSI) for 13 consecutive years.

About Sunew

Sunew’s goal is to revolutionize the solar power industry in Brazil and around the world with the greenest solar power generation technology. The company has state-of-the-art facilities capable of competing globally and is headquartered in Brazil and has a commercial office in the United States. To find out more, visit sunew.com.br.

About OPV

At the organic photovoltaic films, also known as OPV, are third-generation solar cells. Capable of transforming light into electrical energy, these panels are lightweight, flexible, semitransparent and have a lower carbon footprint compared with other photovoltaic generation technologies. To find out more, visit sunew.com.br.