Akuo wins 370 MW in Portugal's PV tender with a record-low bid

French renewable power producer Akuo Energy SAS confirmed on Thursday it had been awarded 370 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in Portugal’s recently held tender.

The company, through its domestic arm Akuo Renovaveis Portugal Lda, secured the largest amount of capacity with three projects of 150 MW, 120 MW and 100 MW, respectively. It also placed the record low bid of EUR 14.76 (USD 16.53) per MWh for its 150 MW project, bidding at a 67% discount to the ceiling price of EUR 45.

"We took a very long-term position as we considered that PV will be the cornerstone of the Portuguese energy mix over the next decade. Also, Akuo has been awarded a total of 370 MW and this is giving us the capacity to buy volume for the 3 projects as well as to have synergies during the construction. Last, but not least, all three projects will benefit from a very high insolation and financing will come from a global competitive financing scheme. Thus, the long term power purchase agreement (PPA) makes this sizeable investment predictable and attractive, João Maria de Macedo Santos, head of Akuo Renováveis Portugal commented for Renewables Now.

Overall, the tender attracted 64 bidders, of which 13 won contracts for a total of 25 projects with 1,150 MW of combined nominal power. Most of the bidders or 862 MW of the total awarded capacity, opted for the guaranteed remuneration regime (fixed price), while the remaining will receive payments at a variable tariff.

(EUR 1 = 1.12)

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