Claro expands clean energy production in Distrito Federal [Federal District] by inaugurating a solar plant developed by EDP | EDP Brasil

As a new stage in its program to promote the use of sustainable energy, Claro has just powered up yet another solar plant in the Federal District. In charge for the execution of the project, EDP, a multinational firm that operates in the entire chain of the electricity industry, through EDP Smart, a division that covers the entire portfolio of energy solutions of the Company, will also be the operator of the distributed generation plant. This venture, which will enable supplying 110 units of the telecommunications company, will avoid the emission of 490 tons of carbon dioxide, which corresponds to the planting of 2,721 trees.

The plant, located in an area of approximately 6 hectares, has 11,880 photovoltaic modules with 325Wp and 330Wp powers, in addition to 25 inverters, capable of generating 6,540 MWh/year. This energy is equivalent to the consumption of 2,725 homes with an average annual use of 2,400kWh.

The plant is part of the "A Energia da Claro” [The Claro’s Power] program, launched in 2017, which prioritizes the use of renewable sources and environmental protection actions in all the company's operations and facilities in Brazil. The initiative has solar plants in several states, such as Bahia, Goiás, Maranhão, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, Pará, Pernambuco, Piauí, Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná, Santa Catarina and São Paulo, as well as projects under construction in the other states.

This is EDP’s second project for the carrier in the solar energy segment.  In June 2020, the company delivered four distributed generation solar plants to Claro. The enterprises, located in an area of 5.8 hectares in the municipality of Taubaté (SP), have an installed capacity of more than 4 megawatts-peak (MWp) and guarantee the supply of renewable energy to 516 Claro consumer units in the state of São Paulo.

“'Energia da Claro' is currently considered the largest distributed generation program in the country and the partnership established with EDP reinforces the company’s commitment to innovation and sustainability. The constant investment for the inauguration of new plants and diversification of the energy matrix, within an own renewable energy program, proves the importance with which the company addresses this topic”, says Hamilton Ricardo Pereira da Silva, Infrastructure director at Claro.

“EDP’s mission is to lead the energy transition, hence the importance of investments in solar generation - whether in distributed or centralized generation (utility scale) - in our strategy. After the delivery of a first project, Claro reinforced its partnership with EDP and entrusted us with this second power plant in the Federal District - a project encompassing two important assumptions of EDP Smart - providing benefits to the environment and adding value to our customers”, says João Marques da Cruz, CEO of EDP in Brazil.

Solar energy in Brazil

According to Absolar, in 2021, Brazil surpassed the milestone of 8 gigawatts (GW) of installed power in the photovoltaic solar source, with 4.9 GW in centralized generation and just over 3.1 GW in distributed generation. Since 2012, more than R$ 35.4 billion have been invested in this sector, having thereby opened 210 thousand jobs and collected R$ 10.4 billion in taxes. The use of the energy source avoided the emission of more than 1.1 million tons of CO2 in the atmosphere.

Aware of this, EDP has a unit dedicated to the implementation of solar self-production and distributed generation projects, being in charge for the construction, operation and maintenance of systems. The Company ended 2020 with 65.3 MWp of solar energy in its portfolio - 34.5 MWp in projects already handed over to clients such as Banco do Brasil, TIM, Claro, and Johnson & Johnson, in addition to 30.8 MWp in projects under development. In February, EDP acquired AES Inova, AES Brasil's distributed generation investment platform, which adds almost 34 MWp to EDP Smart's portfolio through assets located in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, São Paulo and Minas Gerais and ready to build  projects.

In late 2020, the Company signed an investment agreement in Blue Sol, with the objective of acquiring a capital stake of up to 40% in the company, which operates in the B2C photovoltaic solar generation segment, with a model that includes complete solutions from the conception of the project, equipment supply, installation and documentary procedures to make the connection with the local energy concessionaire feasible. Blue Sol has a network of 34 franchises spread across 16 states. With the implementation of the business, EDP seeks to obtain greater sales capillarity in the B2C solar energy segment.

About Claro

Claro is a leader in Telecommunications in Latin America and one of the largest multiservice carrier in Brazil, present in all regions of the country. It is operating in more than 4200 Brazilian municipalities and its networks provide services to more than 96% of the population. Claro offers integrated solutions for connectivity, entertainment, productivity and digital services in a truly convergent way, on various fixed and mobile platforms. It is a leader in Pay-TV, broadband and is the fastest growing operator in mobile services. Through Embratel, it also leads the corporate services industry, which includes offers in the cloud, telecommunications, IT and network and application security. It was pioneering in the deployment of all generations of mobile Internet in Brazil, including 4.5G, which allows browsing 10x faster than the traditional 4G network. It is a leader in connection speed, both in cell phones and residential broadband, with ultra-speeds. Claro is part of América Móvil, with a presence in 25 countries, in Latin America and also in Europe and the United States. www.claro.com.br

About EDP in Brazil

With over 20 years of experience, EDP is one of the largest private companies in the electricity sector operating throughout the value chain. The Company, which has over 10 thousand direct and outsourced employees, has six hydroelectric and one thermoelectric power plants, in addition to operating in Transmission, Marketing and Energy Services. In the Distribution, it serves approximately 3.5 million customers in São Paulo and Espírito Santo, in addition to being the main shareholder of Celesc, in Santa Catarina. In 2020, the company was elected as the most innovative in the electricity sector by the Valor Inovação ranking, of the Valor Econômico newspaper, and is a reference in Governance and Sustainability, having been on the B3 Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE) for 15 consecutive years.

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