Through its subsidiary Horizon Wind Energy, EDP Renewables intends to invest about $4 billion to construct new wind energy projects in the United States through 2012, company officials announced on Wednesday.

The investment is expected to help create thousands of jobs to develop, build and operate new renewable energy projects, as well as to manufacture equipment needed.

The target investment was based on the record amount of new capacity that EDP Renewables has already installed and is constructing this year. The company installed approximately 800 megawatts of wind power across the United States this year worth more than $1.5 billion.

With more than 2,500 MW of installed wind energy capacity in 21 states, EDP Renewables holds a strong position in the United States wind market. And with its latest private investment, the company expects to further reinforce its foothold in the industry.

“EDP Renewables is serious about partnering with the United States for a number of reasons, but most of all because of the leadership we have seen from the federal government,” said Antonio Mexia, chief executive of EDP and chairman of EDP Renewables.

Mr. Mexia credited the company’s rapid growth in the United States in the past 10 months to the successful implementation of the 1603 Program of the Departments of Treasury and Energy.

The program provides renewable energy producers with a 30 percent grant to offset the costs of new projects. Companies that apply for the grant have to give up certain tax credits that they would have been eligible for in the future.

The direct payment involved entices companies that do not have a federal tax liability to develop new renewable energy projects. The program also encourages immediate reinvestment of renewable energy profits.

Horizon Wind Energy, an EDP Renewables company, benefited from the program when it received funding for a wind energy project. The company used the funding to accelerate the construction of the second phase of its 199.65-MW Meadow Lake wind farm in Indiana. The project is worth more than $400 million.

However, Mr. Mexia pointed out that the government needs to implement a more aggressive renewable electricity standard to ensure that more companies make longer term investment in the renewable energy sector.

A renewable electricity standard requires electric utilities to generate a specific fraction of their power from renewable energy sources. With a strong standard, companies would be able to deliver renewable energy at the lowest possible cost, compared with other sources of energy.

EDP Renewables is the second largest wind energy producer in the world and also the third largest producer in the United States. Its parent company, Energias de Portugal, holds electricity and gas operations in Europe, Brazil and the United States.

EDP Renewables is listed on the Euronext Lisbon Stock Exchange.






-   Natassia Y. Laforteza