{"id":73162,"date":"2024-07-15T08:28:30","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T07:28:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bpcc.pt\/?p=73162"},"modified":"2024-07-15T08:57:17","modified_gmt":"2024-07-15T07:57:17","slug":"bpcc-corporate-members-lunch-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bpcc.pt\/pt-pt\/bpcc-corporate-members-lunch-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"BPCC Corporate Member&#8217;s Lunch 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"73162\" class=\"elementor elementor-73162\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-8f51468 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"8f51468\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-b630a48\" data-id=\"b630a48\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4307a5f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4307a5f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Kindly Sponsored by:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-24d8cad elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"24d8cad\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-8a3f67e\" data-id=\"8a3f67e\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-41fe78a elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"41fe78a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ey.com\/en_pt\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/bpcc.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/EY-Sponsor.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-73175\" alt=\"EY\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-53c20af\" data-id=\"53c20af\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-306b40d elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"306b40d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linklaters.com\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/bpcc.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Linklaters-Sponsor.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-73177\" alt=\"Linklaters\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d021671 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"d021671\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-877b69a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"877b69a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>EDP &#8211; creating sustainable energy solutions to tackle climate change <\/strong><\/p><p>As CEO of Portugal\u2019s EDP and EDPR, Miguel Stilwell d\u2019Andrade is at the forefront of managing the multinational\u2019s energy transition. A major global energy player, EDP today employs around 13,000 people in 29 markets across Europe, North America, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific. The EDP CEO addressed a select group of British-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce members at the British ambassador\u2019s residence in Lisbon on Thursday, June 11.<\/p><p>Over the past 24 years Miguel Stilwell d\u2019Andrade has had a pivotal role in making the company a global renewable energy leader through the scale of its renewable energy investments in Portugal and overseas, including notably in the UK where EDPR is the largest and most significant Portuguese investor.<\/p><p>EDP\u2019s presence in the UK goes back to 2009 when EDPR entered the UK\u2019s offshore wind sector. Fast-forwarding to the present, the company\u2019s renewables arm EDPR has become one of the most significant players in UK renewable energy.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-165ff12 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"165ff12\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-1699da0\" data-id=\"1699da0\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e50073e elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"e50073e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/bpcc.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/CorporateLunch-11.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-73171\" alt=\"President &amp; CEO -BPCC with CEO EDP\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bpcc.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/CorporateLunch-11.png 600w, https:\/\/bpcc.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/CorporateLunch-11-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-a869454\" data-id=\"a869454\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cbcefae elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cbcefae\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>EDPR is developing offshore wind projects through the company Ocean Winds, a 50\/50 joint venture with French multinational Engie with a total of four offshore wind farms, one of which is fully operational, and an increasing number of projects in onshore wind and battery storage sectors.<\/p><p>In 2009 Ocean Winds began the development of Scotland\u2019s biggest wind farm &#8211; 950MW Moray East in the Moray Firth which has been in operation since 2022, providing 40% of the electricity demand in Scotland.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1bd07cf elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1bd07cf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Through these investments EDP is playing a critical part in the UK\u2019s clean energy transition with the company\u2019s longstanding commitment to the UK being highly valued, more so since the UK has some of the most ambitious climate targets in the world, with a commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.<\/p><p>Following the general election on 4 July, the new UK Labour government led by Sir Kier Starmer had made a pledge to making the UK into a clean energy superpower a top priority and the second of its overarching ambitions.<\/p><p>The government\u2019s aim is to fully decarbonise the UK\u2019s power generation systems to deliver clean power by 2030; faster than any other major economy.<\/p><p>In a huge ambition and working with the private sector, the government aims to double on-shore wind, triple solar power, and quadruple offshore wind by 2030.<\/p><p>The UK will also invest in carbon capture storage, and green hydrogen energy, and long-term energy storage.<\/p><p>Alongside the government\u2019s relentless mission to deliver strong economic growth, the new government has billed the green energy transition as the biggest transformation since the industrial revolution.<\/p><p>In acknowledgement of the scale of this challenge, the UK government is calling for a concerted effort from society, businesses, academia, financial institutions, and from government.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-e2189f3 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"e2189f3\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-8d35616\" data-id=\"8d35616\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-15f362b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"15f362b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>An international case study<\/strong><\/p><p>Miguel Stilwell d\u2019Andrade is proud of the fact that EDP is a world case study on energy transition. Twenty years ago EDP was 80% thermal energy and 20% renewables. In 2024, 97% of the company\u2019s generation is renewable.<\/p><p>\u201cWe\u2019ve done this in a very efficient and non-controversial manner by closing down coal-fired power stations over time and investing heavily in renewables. Many people said it was not possible to switch to renewables so quickly, that it would take decades, but it is possible and is not as difficult as some make it out to be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-d8c8bd0\" data-id=\"d8c8bd0\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-08bf867 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"08bf867\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/bpcc.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/CorporateLunch1.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-73165\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bpcc.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/CorporateLunch1.png 600w, https:\/\/bpcc.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/CorporateLunch1-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fb1bd94 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"fb1bd94\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>\u00a0<\/p><p>\u201cI have no doubts energy transition will happen. It\u2019s debatable how long it will take, and if we can do it by 2050, but it is absolutely urgent\u201d he added, referring to the Paris Agreement in 2015 when 196 countries signed up to keeping global temperatures well below 2\u00baC (3.6F) above pre-industrial times while pursuing means to limit the increase to 1.5C, as well as reviewing countries&#8217; contribution to cutting emissions every five years.<\/p><p>\u201cThis is something I believe in, and governments, companies, people and society collectively has a duty to do it, and it\u2019s one of the key premises we use as a company when thinking about the future\u201d, said Miguel Stilwell d\u2019Andrade.<\/p><p><strong>A \u20ac25 million investment plan<\/strong><\/p><p>Today, EDP\u2019s total emissions are 48% less than they were in 2015 and the company intends to reduce 90% of its absolute emissions by 2040.<\/p><p>To effect the energy transition, EDP has a \u20ac25 million investment plan to 2026, of which around \u20ac21 million (85%) will be in renewables, including wind, solar, green hydrogen, and battery energy storage technology.<\/p><p>Miguel Stilwell d\u2019Andrade says that as an engineer he believes strongly in technological progress and progress towards efficiency has already occurred in more efficient solar panels and batteries.<\/p><p>The former investment banker points out that not so long ago solar panels cost \u20ac400 per MW\/h; today that figure has come down to \u20ac20 MW\/h. Similar cost reductions have occurred with wind turbines and batteries.<\/p><p>However, the EDP CEO admits that it has been \u201cvery tough\u201d as it has huge geopolitical impacts on the many economies that are still dependent on fossil fuels.<\/p><p>\u201cThis is not just energy transition, it is a revolution, and the impact is absolutely mind-blowing. There will be winners and losers, and we need to think very carefully about how we manage this, not just in the developed world, but in those economies that are going to be heavily hit, but this is about the sustainability of the planet,\u201d he stressed.<\/p><p><strong>Independence and affordability<\/strong><\/p><p>Miguel Stilwell d\u2019Andrade says that the UK and Europe have taken the lead in pushing for climate change and that urgency is being forced by the fact that during energy transition will offer greater energy independence and make it more affordable.<\/p><p>The Ukraine War and the weaponisation of energy had made Europe more dependent on imports from the US, which today is probably the most energy independent nation. Not only that, fossil fuels were price volatile with prices being driven up by these geopolitical conflicts.<\/p><p>\u201cEurope is not energy independent, so the more energy independent we can become, the better, and clearly we have a lot of wind and solar\u201d, he said.<\/p><p>Another reason that energy independence is important is affordability. Renewables are more competitive than fossil fuels and prices are not volatile. Stilwell d\u2019Andrade pointed out that once a wind farm or solar park has been set up it is cost effective and the energy will not cost any more in 20 or 30 years time than it does today. \u201cThe good thing is once it is installed it\u2019s free and you\u2019re not dependent on imports\u201d, he said.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-4c089ce elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"4c089ce\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-8c7720a\" data-id=\"8c7720a\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2ad7a0a elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"2ad7a0a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/bpcc.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/CorporateLunch-21.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-73173\" alt=\"Miguel Stilwell speech\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bpcc.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/CorporateLunch-21.png 600w, https:\/\/bpcc.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/CorporateLunch-21-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-c898dfc\" data-id=\"c898dfc\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ecd4ac5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ecd4ac5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Phasing out coal<\/strong><\/p><p>Miguel Stilwell d\u2019Andrade says that he has no doubt that coal will be phased out in Europe, although there would still be coal-fired power stations in China and India, but China was investing more money in renewables.<\/p><p>Nuclear energy may be an option for some countries in certain situations, he said, but certainly not in Portugal, while it is being phased out in Spain and Germany.<\/p><p>\u201cWhen you invest in nuclear you have to have State backing since no private company will invest in nuclear.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-012367e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"012367e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not the magical solution, and even if you were to build a nuclear power station, it would not be ready until 2040\u201d he said, giving the example of the UK\u2019s Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant which was expected to be completed by 2027 at a cost of \u00a326Bn, but is now unlikely to be operational\u00a0 before 2030, with the overall cost revised to between \u00a331Bn according to EDF.<\/p><p>Instead, Miguel Stilwell d\u2019Andrade says that the future lies with either gas or renewables, or a combination of both.<\/p><p><strong>Capital intensive <\/strong><\/p><p>One thing that has changed over the past couple of years is the economic and financial macro-environment. Energy transition projects require a lot of capital, numbering trillions of dollars, and the cost of capital has gone up.<\/p><p>According to the Harvard Business Review, for most of the last 15 years, capital had been cheap. Since 2009, the after-tax cost of borrowing for some large companies had been below the rate of inflation, making their debt in real terms cost-free. And for much of this time, the stock market moved steadily upward, consistent with historically low costs of equity. It was estimated that in early 2022, the weighted-average cost of capital (WACC) for the average company in the S&amp;P 500 hovered below 6%.<\/p><p>All that changed in March 2022, when the world\u2019s central banks began raising rates to curb rising inflation. Over the next 12 months, the US Federal Reserve increased its benchmark Fed Funds rate from\u00a00.25% to 4.75%\u00a0and the\u00a0yield on 10-year treasury notes\u00a0climbed from 1.75% to almost 4%. Europe followed that lead.<\/p><p>\u201cThat was a problem for companies investing in deploying capital since we basically had free money for many years, and now it has gone up to what it was 20 or 20 years ago,\u201d said Stilwell d\u2019 Andrade.<\/p><p>And added: \u201cThis has certainly changed the capacity for companies to invest at precisely the time when we should be investing, but now it costs two three times more\u201d.<\/p><p><strong>Protectionism is back<\/strong><\/p><p>Another issue linked to geopolitics is that protectionism is back, and anything to do with energy has become a national security issue, whether it involves China, the US or Europe.<\/p><p>China has developed its own value chain with investments in renewables, while the US introduced\u00a0 the Inflation Reduction Act 2022 which aims to curb inflation by printing and spending more money and investing in domestic energy production while promoting clean energy.\u00a0<\/p><p>\u201cEurope complained for years that the US wasn\u2019t doing enough to invest in climate change measures, and when they did the Europeans said it had gone too far and needed to scale down as it was making things hard for Europe,\u201d he noted.<\/p><p>\u201cNot only has the US invested a lot in renewables, but it has also become more protectionist. This has brought a lot of investment into the US to build up the supply chain, with a lot of solar and turbine projects there\u201d.<\/p><p>The US is finally, after many years, and after everyone said it was dependant on the Middle East for oil (resulting in conflicts), independent.<\/p><p>The US equally doesn\u2019t want to become dependent on China for resources needed for energy transition.<\/p><p>\u201cThe US decided that it needed to be pragmatic and ensure that it was controlling the value chain to do that\u201d, said Miguel Stilwell d&#8217;Andrade who is on record for saying that the prospects for growth in the US renewables market are \u201cvery strong\u201d for EDPR, a market to which it has dedicated around 40% of its total investment.<\/p><p>Europe, however, has taken a middle road. It wants energy transition but its dependency on and relationship with China is more ambiguous. Europe has not placed tariffs on Chinese imports of solar cells like the US (50% in 2024) or blocked Chinese imports from Chinese companies where, according to Human Rights Watch, there are forced labour concerns.<\/p><p><strong>Own project focused<\/strong><\/p><p>In an interview with Bloomberg this year, the EDPR CEO said that the company was more focused on investing in its own projects rather than buying renewable energy assets.<\/p><p>EDP has been in the US since 2007, and is now one of the main five operators in the sector there in wind farms, solar parks and battery energy storage.<\/p><p>The US is EDPR&#8217;s biggest market in terms of installed capacity and production.\u00a0EDPR North America\u00a0is based in Houston, Texas, and maintains offices and wind farms across the United States. The company currently operates 61 wind farms and 15 utility-scale solar parks across the country.<\/p><p><strong>Increased electricity demand<\/strong><\/p><p>Miguel Stilwell d\u2019Andrade says the world is witnessing an increased demand for electricity driven by artificial intelligence, in part because of the amount of chips being produced and sold by companies like Nvidia &#8211; one of the world\u2019s leading producers in AI computing &#8211; and the amount of energy needed to supply data centres.<\/p><p>According to White &amp; Case, data centres consume around 3% of the world\u2019s electricity is set to increase in the future as more data is stored and processed in data centers.\u00a0In the drive towards greener data centres the use of greener power has become one key strategy with a notable rise of co-location of data centers constructed with renewable energy-generating assets.\u00a0<\/p><p>Currently, when they build a data centre they need to buy green energy to offset emissions. The energy consumed has to be additional, it can\u2019t be purchased from the existing system which would result in price inflation.<\/p><p>In other words companies like Nvidia have to match their 100MW data centres with 100MW of additional renewable power.<\/p><p>\u201cThese data centres are exploding in numbers and what we\u2019re seeing is not like anything in the past where companies like EDP get enquires asking if they have enough capacity and connection in the network for a new data centre. Now it\u2019s do you have projects that you can build to provide us with energy\u201d.<\/p><p>Summing-up, Miguel Stilwell d\u2019Andrade said it was exciting times to be in energy, despite the challenges of licensing and permitting, but stressed that the sector did not need more legislation, and pointed to the challenge of he sheer time it has been taking to get EU legislation transposed to member state level. \u201cWe don\u2019t need a lot of rhetoric, we need execution.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-16dad1a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"16dad1a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Text: Chris Graeme Photos: Joaquim Morgado<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-8bc24ed elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"8bc24ed\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-54b7377\" data-id=\"54b7377\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kindly Sponsored by: EDP &#8211; creating sustainable energy solutions to tackle climate change As CEO of Portugal\u2019s EDP and EDPR, Miguel Stilwell d\u2019Andrade is at the forefront of managing the [&hellip;]<span class=\"entry-read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bpcc.pt\/pt-pt\/bpcc-corporate-members-lunch-2024\/\" class=\"cs-btn cs-btn-flat cs-btn-rounded cs-btn-xxs cs-btn-flat-accent\">Ler mais<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":73167,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.9 (Yoast SEO v28.0) - 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