Portugal

The Portugal-based company has developed a metal oxides removal agent product for PV installations located near foundries, steelworks and metal ore mines.

Portuguese and Italian researchers have shown that the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) is lower onshore and that PV-wind configurations reduce the LCOH up to 70%, while Lhyfe says it has started collaborating on a hydrogen storage project.

The second edition of Portugal’s most important energy event focused on the central role of green hydrogen in the country’s future energy landscape. The trade show also highlighted the need to accelerate the growth of the solar sector.

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.