Portugal

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.

The renewables unit of Portuguese energy supplier EDP has commissioned Portugal’s second solar-wind hybrid project. It has installed 36 thousand bifacial panels alongside 13 wind turbines to produce 79 GWh of renewable energy per year.

Pixel Voltaic, a spinoff of University of Porto, has launched a laser system to hermetically seal glass-glass and glass-steel perovskite PV modules up to 30 cm x 30 cm. The company’s technology roadmap is to increase capacity to accommodate larger device areas of up to 1 m2, and to modify the process to operate within a roll-to-roll line.

Galp, a Portuguese energy company, has announced plans to build a 5 MW/20 MWh battery storage system in Portugal, in collaboration with Powin. The system at one of Galp’s solar plants will enable it to adjust its PV production profile and meet its energy requirements. This project marks Powin’s first venture in Europe.