Global energy company AES added more than 2GW of renewables and energy storage to its portfolio last year as the business formally confirmed its intent to exit coal generation by 2025.
More than half (1,129 MW) of solar, wind or energy storage addition in 2021 came from the US, followed with 859MW of hydro, wind, energy storage and solar from Chile, Brazil and Colombia, and the remaining 91MW of solar in Panama and the Dominican Republic.
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At the same time, for the entire year of 2021, the company contracted almost 5GW (4,965MW) of renewables and energy storage through long-terms PPAs, passing its previous target of 3-4GW for 2021, and of which 978MW were added since its Q3 results.
At the end of 2021, the backlog of renewables projects to be completed by end of 2025 stood at more than 9.2GW, comprising of 3,497MW under construction and 5,742MW of long-term PPAs. AES’ total pipeline of potential projects stands at 59GW.
The target for new renewables long-term PPA signings in 2022 is in the 4.55-5.5GW range.
“Last year was AES’ best year ever, in terms of safety, new renewables PPAs signed, growth in our backlog of projects and pipeline, earnings and cash flow,” said Andrés Gluski, AES president and CEO.
The US-headquartered company previously intended to cut its coal activity to less than 10% of total generation by the end of 2025, with an actual coal portfolio of 7.1GW, but this has now been revised to fully exit it by year-end 2025.
“To continue to accelerate the future of energy, today, we are announcing our intent to exit coal generation by the end of 2025. We are committed to completing the transformation of AES, while maintaining our guidance and delivering strong financial results,” said Gluski.
In July 2021, AES signed an agreement with the Chilean government to close 1.1GW of its coal generation in the country by 2025.
Back in November, AES’ energy storage joint venture Fluence completed its IPO, with AES retaining 34% of ownership.
In December, AES launched its first AI-driven solar installation robot that would increase speed and efficiency when building new solar facilities.