Lightsource bp has entered into a co-development partnership with Portuguese company INSUN for five utility-scale solar projects totaling 1.35GW.

The projects are in the early development stages and will be located in the regions of Moura, Castelo Branco, Mogadouro, Chamusca and Viseu. The €900 million ($1.1 billion) investment will be deployed over six years and will result in over 3000 green jobs being created.

According to Lightsource bp, solar is well suited to support Portugal’s National Energy and Climate Plan’s 2030 targets due to its scalability, short deployment cycles and having the lowest electricity generation costs in history. It is a cost-effective solution to meet the urgent need of rising energy demand through local and low-carbon solutions.

Solar is also becoming increasingly attractive to corporate buyers looking to reduce emissions, meet sustainability targets and diversify their energy mix.

Miguel Lobo, country head Portugal for Lightsource bp said: “Solar is ideally placed to meet Portugal’s rapid expansion plans on growing its local renewable energy generation capacity as it has excellent irradiation levels, it is quick to deploy, and low-cost. If Portugal is efficient by adding new solar generation quickly, it will accelerate decarbonization and it will contribute to reduce electricity prices. There really is so much potential for solar within the energy mix. In addition, there are also opportunities with growing technologies like storage and green hydrogen that are attracting new investment players across the energy value chain, and that is a huge benefit to our country.

“We will be developing these projects in partnership with local municipalities and communities. There are lots of additional economic opportunities to explore in addition to the renewable energy generation and local feedback will help shape our projects to local priorities.”

Lightsource bp announced its move into the Iberian energy market in late 2018, initially setting up in Madrid, and in 2019 opened its office in Lisbon. The company has grown its solar development pipeline to over 2GW in Spain, and with this transaction, over 3.5 GW across Iberia.

Portugal is aiming for a 47 percent share of renewables in its final energy use by 2030, across all sectors, not just the power sector. It is targeting up to 2.5GW of green hydrogen capacity by the end of the decade to further the decarbonisation of heat and transport.