In a statement sent to the Lusa news agency, the company explained that the investment will allow, “in a gradual way, a reduction in dependence on the electricity grid, costs and environmental impact”.

To implement the 15 photovoltaic electricity production units intended for self-consumption, AgdA launched, on 3 June, a public tender for the design and construction of these infrastructures, “with a base price of approximately €1.76 million” and an execution period of 40 months.

The new units will be installed at the water treatment plants (WTPs) of Alvito and Roxo (municipality of Aljustrel), at the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) of Almodôvar, Beja, Serpa, Vidigueira and Vila Nova de Milfontes, and at the pumping stations of Corte Vicente Anes (Aljustrel), Cerro Ruivo (Castro Verde), and Fonte da Telha (Moura), all in the district of Beja.

Units are also planned for the WWTPs of Montemor-o-Novo, in the district of Évora, Grândola and Alcácer do Sal, in the district of Setúbal, as well as at the pumping stations of Ameira 1 and 2, both in the municipality of Alcácer do Sal.

According to the company, “approximately 80% of the energy” produced annually by the new self-consumption units could “be used internally in the water supply and wastewater treatment infrastructures”.

AgdA also emphasised that it continues to invest “in clean energy production,” duly framed within its energy efficiency and decarbonisation plans, in which “the increase in renewable energy production constitutes one of the main vectors for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

The objective is “to achieve energy self-sufficiency by 2030, ensuring that the energy consumed in its operations comes entirely from renewable sources,” reads the statement.