Portugal

In an interview with pv magazine, President of the Portuguese renewable energy association Apren, António Sá da Costa, has explained why solar and renewable energy power plants selling electricity to the spot market are still unviable in the country, and has urged the government to introduce auctions.

The proposal for the new plan is included in the draft state budget law for 2018.

In anticipation of possible auctions for large-scale solar and renewables, several projects for PV plants were submitted to the country’s local and central authorities over the past months. The latest of these is a 20 MW facility planned for the municipality of Vidigueira, in Southern Portugal.

Portugal’s renewable energy association Apren said that Spain has paved the way for further development of renewables on the Iberian Peninsula with its recent 3 GW auction, and that a similar tender is needed to revive the country’s solar and wind power sector.

The Portuguese company invested $31.8 million in the transaction. The solar park is located in Ferreira do Alentejo, in southern Portugal.

Work on this huge solar project without subsidies is expected to begin in the first quarter of this year.

French floating PV specialists Ciel & Terre have installed a 220 kW PV installation at a hydroelectric dam on Portugal’s Rabagão River. Though a comparatively small installation, this represents the first time the two technologies have been used in tandem at utility scale.

Approval of law could propel solar sector into the fast lane, where PV is still playing catch-up to a soaring wind industry.

Portugal added 16.8 MW of solar PV in May and June, but latest figures show that micro generation is still the country’s dominant sector.

Portugal added only 1.1 MW of solar PV in the first four months of 2013. The Mediterranean country is on track for EU renewables targets, but thanks to wind and hydro.