Portugal streamlines permits for renewables

From pv magazine Spain

Portugal’s government has approved exceptional measures to simplify the procedures for energy production from renewable sources, which will be in force for two years.

Decree 30-A/2022, promulgated on Monday, includes among its measures the exemption for renewable energy developers from securing an operating license or an operating certificate for power plants, battery storage, and production units for self-consumption, provided that the network operator confirms the existence of conditions for the grid connection of these facilities.

The new provisions also simplify the procedures related to a project’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). In the case of power generators from renewable sources, as long as they are not located in sensitive areas, the government wants to adopt a case-by-case evaluation approach.

The same should apply to the analysis and decision of hydrogen production projects whose production process is free of danger and contamination.

The decree also established that, in order to reduce analysis and decision times, the opinions and authorizations required from administrative bodies will become part of the EIA procedures. It further makes it mandatory for projects to be accompanied by proposals to involve local populations, specifically through the exploitation of traditional activities such as sheep and chicken herding and beekeeping; the authorization of areas for planting native species with economic value or community gardens; nature and biodiversity conservation projects; and the supply of electricity to energy communities or local industries or the co-investment of resident populations.

Finally, it is possible for the existing wind power generation centers to inject all their production into the network without limiting the administratively assigned injection capacity, so as to guarantee the maximum possible production based on the installed power of each generation center.