Message from the CEO | EDP Renováveis

Dear Stakeholder, 

2020 was a challenging year but one that showed the best in our people and in our company. EDPR’s main priority has been to protect its employees’ health, ensuring business continuity and supporting the local communities in which it operates. As a company, we’ve remained resilient, delivering on short and long-term objectives, and maintaining our leadership in a sector of increasing global importance.

I believe EDPR is well placed to build on its pioneering role in renewable energy and continue to grow. Clean energy will be at the center of the post-COVID recovery, helping to stimulate the economy and accelerate the energy transition. The current crisis has also helped to galvanize the movement to a net zero global economy, with growing momentum in the public and private sectors as well as civil society.

In Europe, the €1 trillion Green Deal announced in December 2019 sits firmly at the heart of the EU’s strategy to drive the economic recovery post COVID-19. A further €750 billion recovery fund the “Next Generation EU” has been established, with around 30% of it earmarked to support decarbonization efforts. On the first day in office the Biden Administration returned the US to the Paris Climate Agreement.

During 2020 a number of countries committed to net zero emission targets by 2050, with eight now having enshrined the commitment into law. That ambition at the national level has been echoed in the private sector, with leading companies making pledges to become net zero by 2050 or earlier. Total net zero commitments to date represent nearly 50% of global CO₂ emissions and 50% of global GDP, which could increase significantly if the US were to make the commitment as well.

EDPR made a number of strategic moves in 2020 designed to maintain our position of leadership in the energy transition and accelerate the global shift to net zero, including:

• The creation of Ocean Winds (OW), a joint venture between EDPR and ENGIE dedicated to the offshore wind energy. OW aims to be among the world’s top five largest offshore operators by 2025, reaching 5–7 GW of projects in operation or construction and 5–10 GW at an advanced development phase.
• The acquisition of Viesgo’s renewables portfolio, a total of c.0.5GW in 24 wind farms located in Spain and Portugal. The purchase of this high-quality portfolio strengthens the position of EDPR in Spain and offers significant opportunities for future growth.
• The acquisition of a solar distributed platform in the US with 89 MW in operation and a near-term pipeline of 120 MW, across nearly 200 sites and 16 states. This transaction will establish EDPR’s presence in the fast-growing generation segments as an owner-operator of one of the largest commercial and industrial distributed generation portfolios in the US.

We have created a leading global renewable energy company through the execution of a focused strategy, with an operating portfolio of more than 12 GW of onshore wind and solar assets, generating 28.5 TWh of clean energy and avoiding 18.5 mt of CO₂. In 2020, EDPR added a total of 1,580 MW and had 2.4 GW of new capacity under construction by year-end.

EDPR also continued its program of asset rotation, selling down 766 MW of assets in Brazil, Spain and the US. We have 6 GW of secured capacity to be installed in the coming years, providing clear visibility on the execution of our strategic plan.

Our EBITDA totaled €1,655 million, and our net profit, attributable to EDP Renováveis’ shareholders, reached €556 million mainly driven by the successful execution of the sell-down strategy.

In February 2021 we presented our new Business Plan, outlining our strategy to deliver superior growth through 2025. The company’s strategy is centred on three distinct pillars:

Growth – we will triple growth in renewables from current levels, adding 4 GW/year in core-low risk geographies across the world. We will strengthen our leadership position in wind onshore, build a sound market presence in solar and be a global player in offshore wind through the 50:50 JV Ocean Winds while developing new technologies and business models to ensure long term renewables competitive edge and growth;

Value – we will accelerate growth, leveraging our distinctive asset rotation model to target €8 billion in proceeds and continue to provide an attractive return on investment;

Excellence – we will continue managing the full value chain to deliver competitive and quality projects at the highest standards and unique O&M knowledge to maximize efficiency while guaranteeing the best ESG standards.

EDPR’s commitment to a sustainable growth model and its contribution to mitigating climate change through the promotion of renewable energies in emerging markets has been recognized by the Global Challenges Index. This model is based on environmental protection across the entire value chain, promoting social welfare and development, and fostering best-practices with regards to governance.

Innovation and Digitalisation are also two key words in EDPR’s sustainable strategy. We work to create clean energy whilst constantly innovating and improving our digital facilities for more efficient and better results. The company’s efforts have been acknowledged through its inclusion in various sustainability indexes, including FTSE4Good, Forum Ethibel, and in rankings such as Top Employer and Bloomberg Gender Equality, amongst others.

On behalf of EDP Renováveis Board of Directors, I would like to thank our stakeholders, namely our employees, contractors, suppliers and clients. We’ve been inspired by the way EDPR’s 1,735 employees from over 30 countries have overcome this challenging year, working as a great team and successfully reaching our targets together. I would also like to extend my thanks to EDPR’s Management Team for their great work in 2020, in particular to João Manso Neto, recognizing his valuable contribution to the growth and achievements of EDPR, and to Rui Teixeira for his leadership in recent months.

I am honored to be leading EDPR. I can say I look forward to contributing to its continued success and the execution of the new 2021-25 strategic business plan.

The future is net zero - EDPR’s vision and long track-record can only make long-term growth prospects stronger than ever.