Wind and solar energy is set to ramp up in Portugal over the course of 2023, after the government approved new schemes that will deliver over a gigawatt (GW) of new power generating capacity.
In Santiago de Cacem, near Sines in the south-west of the country, Iberdrola and Prosolia Energy have been given the green light to begin works on a €800 million 1.2GW solar farm that will ultimately be able to power over 400,000 homes. As part of the project, which is claimed to be the largest of its kind in Europe and the fifth largest in the world, 2.1 million photovoltaic modules will be installed across a 1,262 hectare site, along with a battery park with approximately 258 MW of energy storage.
Construction on the farm, which is named after the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa, is expected to be completed by 2025.
Elsewhere, Denmark’s Eurowind Energy has announced the inauguration of the 22 megawatt (MW) Triana solar plant in Alenquer, in the Lisbon district, as part of a €400 million portfolio of green energy projects. Other works in the pipeline include a green hydrogen project budgeted at €28.5 million euros and two 250MW ‘hybrid’ schemes including large-scale solar farms, wind farms and battery parks.
Altogether, over 2GW of new renewable schemes – predominantly solar – are set to begin construction across Portugal in 2023, together sufficient to power nearly 1 million homes, or almost a quarter of the country’s population.
Iberdrola alone also plans to invest another €1 billion in wind and solar energy in Portugal in the coming years, according to reports.
Source: Expresso / Jornal de Negocios / Diario de Noticias
