Annual Report 2010 - AdP

8.3. Energy and Other Businesses
The activities of the AdP Group in the field of renewable energies is centralised in the company AdP Energias - Energias Renováveis
e Serviços Ambientais, S.A., attributed the mission of maximising the energy efficiency of group assets and endogenous resources
and contribute towards the sustainable develop of companies, rationalising their energy consumptions and reducing or offsetting
their greenhouse gas emissions.
AdP Energias develops projects for the production of RDFs (refuse derived fuels) and the Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant
Sludge - Energy Recovery Plants (ERPs), the recovery of low temperature heat (Rankine Organic Cycle Technology), leveraging
hydro-electricity capacity - hydric-peak and micro-hydro energy production as well as biomass energy and photovoltaic solar energy
(traditional technologies and solar photovoltaic concentration).
In parallel, AdP Energias provides working support to group companies in advancing with energy efficient solutions, in the optimisation
of energy production in already existing installations and equipment and in the development of regional and local solutions for the
appropriately environmentally correct and energy efficient treatment of water and wastewater treatment plant sludges.
Within this field, of particular importance are activities in support of accessing financial incentive programmes for energy efficiency
under the auspices of the PPEC (Plan for the Promotion of Efficient Consumption), technical support for the management
optimisation of biogas resulting from anaerobic digestion processes, support in taking out licenses for energy delivery installations
and points as well as the development of sludge drying and handling projects based upon the utilisation of solar energy.
Relevant facts of the year
2010 may be a termed a year of some disappointment for the renewable energies field of the AdP Group as its projects did not
advance on their level of implementation, a knock-on effect of the macroeconomic framework which Portugal currently faces,
especially the consequences of the Stability and Growth Pact, with the review of the philosophy behind the legislative framework of
the sector, particularly in terms of regulations on activity levels and remuneration tariffs for the sale of energy to RESP.
In effect, the supervisory decision to review the construction program for two Energy Recovery Plants (ERPs), taking into account
the impact on AdP Group debt levels, as well as the decision of one selected partner for one ERP having decided to withdraw from
project participation led to the freezing of the plan of action set out for the implementation of one planned unit.
With the other ERP, a co-generation unit, awaiting the publication of a regulatory diploma for this activity, establishing the rules and
the parameters enabling the definition of the tariff to be applied and without which it becomes impossible to ascertain project
viability thus preventing project implementation.
In the remaining renewable energy fields, progress was achieved with the publication of a section of the regulatory framework for
activities in this sector with the reformulation of the table for micro-generation and still awaiting the table relating to mini-generation.
These two diplomas are essential to planning any business investment as they define the tariffs, their temporal scopes and any other
eventual conditions that may be applied.
It should be mentioned that the general scope for AdP Group intervention in the field of renewable energies falls within the extent
of micro and mini generation, with AdP Energias having always contributed, whenever possible, towards the consultation phases of
the aforementioned diplomas.
As regards the diverse projects, we would hereby highlight:
Micro Photovoltaic
Despite the new diploma on micro-production activities only having been published in late October 2010, a total of 208 installations
were in production by the end of the year and fully meeting and exceeding the objective set for this period.
Taking into account the climatic irregularities in 2010 and the fact that this is the project launch phase, with the necessary adjustments
and fine tuning following entrance into operation, the results from installations have been within the range of those expected, while
there was a shortfall in the guaranteed results of around 5%, which may contractually only be ascertained at the end of the second
year of production. Any eventual shortcomings are met by bank guarantees supplied by the installation entity.