Portugal to auction 1.35 GW of solar capacity
Minister of the Environment of Portugal, Joao Matos Fernandes, announced that the government will auction 1.35 GW of solar capacity starting this coming summer after the change in legislation.
Portugal´s government has approved the amendment to the power generation licensing process which regulates how the capacity is awarded. The amendment simplifies the procedure and reduces the bureaucracy to benefit the consumers. Before the amendment, the licences depended on the availability of capacity on the network. Now the licenses will be awarded in the auction process. Because solar is the cheapest form of renewable energy production, the government intends to contract it at below market price for electricity.
The upcoming auction is slightly cut back from the initial plan to auction 1.75 GW of solar, which was announced in January 2019.
There will be an auction held for large-scale projects and another auction for smaller projects like rooftop PV arrays. The main points of connection to the grid for these projects will be in the municipalities of Portalegre, Estremoz and Castelo Branco.
Portugal’s Minister of Environment and Energy Transition João Pedro Matos Fernandes said that the government would like to see EUR 6 billion (USD 6.7 billion) invested in solar energy projects by 2030 and reach 80% of the electricity generated by renewable energy. This is the mid-term goal on the way to make Portugal carbon neutral in 2050.
Portugal´s photovoltaic capacity reached 670 MW at the end of 2018.
The changes in the award process mean that the government might receive complaints from the solar PV developers who have projects in development but are still waiting for the licences to be awarded.
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