Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 26, 2026
3 min readLast updated: April 2, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleEDP is positioning to supply Iberia’s accelerating data center buildout, supported by low power prices and stable returns. A new partnership with Start Campus will deliver renewable energy to its 1.2 GW Sines campus.
By Sergio Goncalves
LISBON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Portugal's largest utility EDP is moving to supply the boom in data centre projects in Iberia, attracted by electricity prices that are set to remain low compared with much of Europe, CEO Miguel Stilwell de Andrade said on Thursday. He said over 18 gigawatts of data centre projects in development or in the pipeline in Portugal and Spain "will support the strong electricity demand already in Iberia," driven by structural, not temporary, factors.
"EDP is obviously engaging with many of these projects," the CEO said at a conference with analysts.
"Iberia has a distinctive advantage, which we expect to benefit from - structurally affordable power prices," he said, adding that this is crucial for these projects.
On Wednesday, EDP signed a partnership to supply renewable power to the 1.2-GW data centre that Start Campus — a consortium of Britain's Pioneer Point Partners and U.S. fund Davidson Kempner - is developing in Sines, 150 kilometres (93 miles) south of Lisbon.
Electricity demand rose 3.6% in Portugal and 2.8% in Spain in 2025, outperforming most EU markets, where average growth was just 0.4%, Stilwell de Andrade said.
EDP is projecting 2% annual growth in Iberian demand through 2030, supported by "electrification of transport, industry, beyond data centres," Stilwell de Andrade said.
Due to the large deployment of wind and solar parks in Iberia, the EDP CEO said electricity prices for industrial customers in the region are around 17% below the EU average.
Portugal and Spain have "several structural factors that will help keep electricity prices low", he said, including the full repayment by 2028 of the electricity systems tariff debt, which has weighed on consumer bills.
"That means there will be significant cost reductions in the tariff structure going forward," he said.
New regulatory frameworks guarantee pre-tax returns of 6.7% on electricity network investments in Portugal through 2029, and 6.58% in Spain through 2031, "giving EDP clarity and stability for the next investment cycle," Stilwell de Andrade said.
(Reporting by Sergio Goncalves in Lisbon; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
EDP plans to supply the fast-growing data center market in Iberia, leveraging lower regional power prices and stable network returns, including a partnership to power the 1.2 GW Sines campus.
Large-scale wind and solar buildout, competitive electricity prices and strong grid development make Portugal and Spain cost-effective locations for hyperscale data centers.
EDP signed a partnership to deliver renewable energy to Start Campus’s data center project in Sines, positioning itself as a preferred long-term green power partner.
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