Portugal

Chemitek has developed new cleaning products for floating PV arrays. The Portuguese company says it has tested and confirmed them to be safe for animals and vegetation around such systems.

AleaSoft and SolarPower Europe inform pv magazine that negative energy prices in Europe are related to the pandemic, low demand, insufficient storage solutions, and inadequate energy planning. They say this situation will likely continue into the summer.

Engie has told pv magazine that the developers of the H2Sines.Rdam installation have decided to terminate the project to produce hydrogen in Portugal and send it to the Netherlands, while Fortescue said it has opened an electrolyzer production facility in Australia.

With ambitious decarbonization targets and a favourable regulatory landscape, Portugal is an appealing market for renewable energy developers and producers. Like other European markets, however, Portugal’s clean energy industry faces challenges related to permitting, grid connection, and the availability of remuneration schemes – hurdles which threaten to slow the country’s energy transition.

Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), the grid operator in Portugal, says that renewables covered 91% of national electricity demand in March. This marks the third consecutive month in which clean energy has exceeded 80% of total power demand.

The Portuguese authorities are now reviewing the environmental authorization granted to a 1.2 GW PV project under development by Prosolia and Iberdrola. The massive Fernando Pessoa solar facility will be built in Santiago do Cacém, about 200 kilometers south of Lisbon.

EDP Renewables has activated 202 MW of solar capacity in Portugal. The plant, in the district of Lisbon, was awarded to the company in the country’s inaugural solar energy auction. It is the company’s largest solar facility in Europe thus far.

Researchers behind a techno-economic analysis of energy communities in Italy and Portugal say that collective self-consumption is a more lucrative solution than individual installations.

Researchers in Portugal have addressed the so-called ‘parking dilemma’ of electric cars incorporating photovoltaic modules. They looked into the tradeoff between charging the car and raising its inside temperature. They calculated the critical time as a function of the car’s solar capacity.

The European Commission has approved a €350 million ($380.4 million) funding package to support companies in Portugal that produce solar panels, batteries, heat pumps, and other renewable energy equipment. The plan is designed to support the country’s transition to a net-zero economy.