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Riopele, in partnership with EDP, inaugurated a new photovoltaic park, reinforcing the company’s commitment to sustainability and energy transition. This initiative joins the existing plant, operational since 2019, and marks a significant step forward in renewable energy production in the textile industry.
Considered one of the largest rooftop photovoltaic parks installed in Portugal, Riopele will be the first EDP customer to install photovoltaic panels on the building's facade, strengthening its focus on innovation, with an additional investment in the construction of a covered car park with panels. With around 8,000 photovoltaic panels installed on a 22,000 m² rooftop area, these new plants have an environmental impact equivalent to planting more than 53,000 trees.
The project represents an investment of over 5 million euros, partially financed by the PRR (Recovery and Resilience Plan), and aims to significantly reduce the company’s carbon footprint.
“This partnership with EDP represents another step in achieving Riopele’s strategy. In this way, we accelerate our decarbonization pace, contributing to environmental sustainability. At the same time, we reduce our dependence on external factors and the resulting fluctuations in one of the main costs of our operation, bringing predictability and stability to the business,” emphasized José Alexandre Oliveira, President of Riopele.
The plant has an installed capacity of 4.5 MWp, capable of generating 5.8 MWh per year, increasing the percentage of renewable electricity used by Riopele from 3% to 12% of its total consumption. This increase in green energy production will allow the company to reduce CO2 emissions by around 1,175 tons annually.
The President of Riopele also highlighted that this is just the beginning of a series of sustainable investments in partnership with EDP. “In the coming months, we will begin the construction of another photovoltaic plant with a capacity of over 3 MWp, which will bring us closer to the goal of zero environmental impact by 2027, the year we celebrate the company’s centenary.”
António Araújo, Administrator of EDP Comercial, also praised the importance of this project. “Portugal has enormous competitive advantages over other European countries to position itself at the forefront of the energy transition. That’s why we are proud to see one of the country's largest exporters investing in its decarbonization through local solar energy production, setting an example for the rest of the Portuguese business community. This is another project that proves decentralized renewable energy production will be one of the key pillars for achieving our country’s carbon neutrality targets.”
It is expected that decentralized solar energy will represent around 50% of new global solar capacity in the coming years. With over a decade of experience in distributed solar energy projects across the four global regions where it operates, this has become one of EDP’s fastest-growing business segments. The company plans to invest 17 billion euros in the energy transition by 2026, with 2.5 billion euros allocated to distributed solar energy projects for families and businesses, thus making a decisive contribution to the energy transition.
The inauguration ceremony was also attended by several entities, including the President of IAPMEI, José Pulido Valente, and the Mayor of Vila Nova de Famalicão, Mário Passos, who highlighted Riopele’s pioneering role in adopting innovative and sustainable solutions in the industrial sector.
With this new step, Riopele strengthens its commitment to decarbonizing the industry, implementing responsible environmental practices aligned with global sustainability and energy efficiency goals.
