Portugal can reach renewable targets four years ahead of schedule, says Government
Portugal will already be able to reach, in terms of energy26, which, at the outset, the Minister of the Environment had defined, goals established this Friday by Climate Action, Duarte Cordeiro, in the renovation of EDP’s new floating solar plant in Alqueva.
According to the National Energy and Climate Plan 2030, it is estimated that the national electricity production system has an installed capacity of around 30 GW, where renewables represent around 80% of the total, that is, 24 GW. Of these energies, 9 GW will be hydropower, between 8 and 9.2 GW wind and between 8.1 and 9.9 GW solar.
“We will continue this trajectory of increasing solar power in the coming years, namely through the projects of the 2019 and 2020 auctions. Through the direct licensing of projects, we will have even more 2.5 gigawatts of solar. In conclusion: in four years we will reach the objectives to which we are committed for 2030”, he stressed, before the Prime Minister António Costa and the CEO of EDP, Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade.
According to the minister, decarbonization is synonymous with “renewed base” electrification, noting that in the last year 70 megawatts of power plants came into operation.
“This year, in addition to having broken the barrier of 2000 megawatts already installed, we expect another 1200 megawatts to come into operation”, he promised. Of the lots awarded in the 2019 solar auction, according to Duarte Cordeiro, 19 power stations have already been licensed, of which 15 have a construction permit.
With regard to the 2020 auction, which will have 13 power plants, one batch has already been licensed, another is in the licensing process and the remaining 11 are in the pre-licensing phase. In the agreement model with the National Transmission Grid Operator, 14 agreements have already been signed, representing a power of 3.5 gigawatts and 11 more agreements are in the preparation phase.
In Alqueva, EDP inaugurated this Friday 5 MW of floating solar that it wants to see grow to 70 MW by 2024, in the context of the lot won at this year’s auction. We can still add another 14 MW of solar and 70 MW of wind, in a total of 154 MW, in total, of projects that excel in hybridization.
We are going to expand and multiply the capacity by almost 15″, said the CEO of EDP in his speech at the inauguration ceremony of this solar plant, held on the dam wall.
“Alqueva is today an example of project innovation and sustainability, which will soon be reinforced with the new reinforcement in the first solar auction in Portugal. EDP is a global pioneer in floating solar technology, which is a marked leap in the expansion of Renewables and in accelerating the decarbonization process”, highlighted Stilwell, adding that “the bet to combine electrical energy storage with storage is a growth path in which the logic of generating growth of the water to invest – allows producing cheaper energy , optimizes resources and minimal environmental impact”.
The first praised this project in Alque, considering that EDP’s solar protection has advantages. One “has to do with the occupation of a space that is and has no other use”, he said, referring to the water mirror of the reservoir, which still has a lot of available area. “If 3% of the Alqueva area was still occupied with solar panels, there were 97% of the areas still needed for all other areas of freedom”,
This technology “helps to control water evaporation”, which is important in a country like Portugal, which “suffers from severe droughts”, and contributes to “improve water quality, preventing the development of some plants”, he added.
António Costa announced that the Government will carry out licensing measures for “environmental streamlining” for approved renewable energy projects, next week, the Simplex program for 2022.
“When, next week, we approve Simplex for 2022, the emblematic measures will go with the streamlining of environmental licensing”, as they serve the country to increase its capacity for autonomy in energy production, said the head of the Government. This step “is definitive, from the macroeconomic point of view for the country”, because the cost of the huge distribution of energy has “a weight” on the national external balance.
“We don’t explore oil, we don’t explore gas, but we consume oil and we consume gas. [a balança] is consuming less gas and less detailed”,
Therefore, “the transition to new energy sources is absolutely essential”, because the country must be able to “stop being just an importer” to become an “increasingly exporter” of energy, which will have to come from renewable sources. , he added.
Duarte Cordeiro also said that the Government is “fully aware of the need to accelerate” the energy transition.
“Next week, we will present a licensing package in which we will streamline the transition processes, whether in solar or water for reuse and also licensing at the municipal level”, he said, alluding to Simplex for 2022.