Portugal's new government brings forward 80% renewables target to 2026

• Portugal will certainly aim to raise the share of renewables in electricity manufacturing to 80% by 2026, four years previously than previously prepared, its brand-new government introduced ahead of the nation's most recent solar public auction.

The target stands for a significant velocity in decarbonising the country's power field; in between 2010 and 2022, the share of renewables in electricity production increased from 41% to 58%.

" Portugal has currently taken really considerable actions in the power transition, however the advancement and also period of the battle in Ukraine have to always suggest brand-new measures," cabinet minister Mariana Vieira da Silva informed a press conference, reported Reuters.

Having actually won a landslide election in January, members of the centre-left Socialist Party were vouched into workplace last Wednesday, prior to the new government released its programme on Friday.

Media records in Portugal suggest prospective buyers will certainly be alerted of the public auction results on Tuesday, prior to the results are released on 19 April.

The government is additionally set to cut red tape to make sure that some PV plants can be developed much faster. Ecological influence analyses for projects with a capacity of under 50MW will no longer be needed, according to the country's secretary of state for power, João Galamba.

Speaking at the Large Scale Solar event, hosted last week by PV Tech publisher Solar Media, Galamba stated a high level of production and intake of electricity from renewable energy resources "is the very best method to assure that Portugal won't depend on fossil fuel imports as well as the best means to have steady and also reduced electricity costs".

He included: "It has actually become clear that we need a significant velocity in the change from fossil to renewable energy resources in this decade which solar will certainly continue to play a vital duty in this process."

According to figures from profession association SolarPower Europe, Portugal had around 1.5 GW of released solar as of 2021, a figure the country will aim to enhance to at least 9GW by 2030.