EDP Renovaveis SA has successfully installed a 4.5-megawatt peak (MWp) rooftop photovoltaic (PV) solar energy system for the Portuguese textile company Riopele. This project marks a significant milestone as it is the first solar system built by EDP on the facade of a building.
The system consists of approximately 8,000 PV panels spread across a rooftop area of 22,000 square meters (236,806 square feet) at Riopele's facility, which has been operational since 2019.
The initiative required an investment of over EUR 5 million (USD 5.5 million), with partial financing provided by Portugal's recovery and resilience plan (PRR).
The installed PV system is expected to generate 5.8 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity annually, increasing Riopele's renewable electricity consumption from 3% to 12%.
“In the coming months, we will start building another photovoltaic plant with a capacity of over 3 MWp, which will bring us ever closer to our goal of zero environmental impact by 2027, the year we celebrate the company's centenary,” said Jose Alexandre Oliveira, president of Riopele.