The Diplomat
Iberdrola has reaffirmed its commitment to clean energy in Portugal and announced that it will accelerate its investments to expand the country’s renewable capacity with a figure of 3 billion euros in the coming years in solar, wind and storage projects, as well as new solutions such as green hydrogen.
The chairman of the energy company, Ignacio Sánchez Galán, announced this investment effort in a meeting held on Wednesday with the Prime Minister of Portugal, António Costa.
Galán ratified the company’s plans to support the energy transition in Portugal, where the company already has projects under construction that will enable it to triple its photovoltaic capacity by 2023. Thus, by the end of next year, the group’s investments in Portugal will exceed 2,000 million euros.
In addition, the company plans to allocate these 3 billion euros in the coming years to solar, wind and storage projects, as well as new solutions such as green hydrogen.
The meeting took place at the ‘Alcochete I’ and ‘II’ solar plants (46 MW) in the Setúbal district (Lisbon region), whose construction, which has just been completed, took just eight months.
The complex, located in the town of the same name, has involved an investment of around 40 million euros and has generated up to 180 jobs during its construction, most of which were filled by local workers.
These parks have bifacial solar modules, which increase energy production by up to 30% compared to traditional panels, thanks to the fact that both sides of the panel manage to absorb the sun’s energy. In addition, bifacial cells reduce the average cost of electricity by 16%.
The plants also have a tracking system that allows the modules to move according to the path of the sun, maximising energy collection and extending the life of the plant by reducing degradation.
When they come into operation, ‘Alcochete I’ and ‘II’ will supply enough green energy to meet the needs of 26,400 households for a year, which is more than the total population of the municipality of Alcochete.
During the event, António Costa announced new Simplex permitting procedures to encourage the rapid deployment of clean energy.
The incorporation of these procedures into the Simplex programme to streamline and modernise the administration aims to accelerate the response to the double challenge posed by the climate and energy crisis in Europe.
In this regard, Galán insisted on accelerating the implementation of the European Green Pact and the EU’s REPower package. “Thanks to the impetus of the European Commission, valuable decisions have been taken in recent months. But it has also become clear that all Member States must work in a coordinated way to complete the single energy market in Europe”, he stressed.
In addition, the Iberdrola chairman highlighted the stability of the regulatory outlook in Portugal and the dynamic approach to permitting processes as key factors in the energy company’s commitment to grow its operations in the country.
“The measures announced in recent months by Prime Minister Costa’s government and the new initiatives underway show Portugal’s clear leadership. This effort must also be shared by the companies. And therefore, in response to its clear and stable regulation, Iberdrola wants to take a further step in its commitment to Portugal and its citizens,” added Galán.
This was the second meeting between Costa and Galán in the last six months, following the inauguration in Alto Tâmega, northern Portugal, of a mega pumped hydroelectric plant.
The group plans to build a wind power complex linked to this facility, which will turn the complex into a hybrid generation plant, which, with its 400 MW of installed capacity, will be one of the largest wind power projects in Portugal.
The Tâmega gigabattery, the largest clean energy initiative in the country’s history with an investment of more than 1.5 billion euros, has three dams and three power plants (Gouvães, Daivões and Alto Tâmega) and a storage capacity of 40 million kWh, equivalent to the average daily energy consumption of 11 million people.
In addition to the Alcochete solar complex, Iberdrola has completed two other photovoltaic installations in the Setúbal district: ‘Conde’, with 13.5 MW and ‘Algeruz II’, with 27 MW.
Construction of the remaining plants awarded to the company in the 2019 auction will begin in early 2023. Specifically, the 37 MW ‘Montechoro I’ and ‘II’ projects in Paderne (Albufeira), and the 64 MW ‘Carregado’ project in Alenquer (Lisbon).
In addition, the 84 MW Estoi solar plant (Algarve), which also includes battery storage and which corresponds to the 2020 auction, will come into operation in 2024.
Iberdrola already operates 92 MW of wind power in Portugal, spread over three wind farms: ‘Catefica’, in the municipality of Torres Vedras, with 18 MW; ‘Alto do Monção’, in Mortágua and Tondela, with 32 MW; and ‘Serra do Alvão’, in Ribeira de Pena, with 42 MW. Together, these plants produce 200 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year, equivalent to the electricity used by 35,000 homes.
Iberdrola is already developing projects totalling more than 3,000 new MW of photovoltaic capacity, almost equally divided between Spain and Portugal.
In this way, the company will almost double its installed capacity of this technology, which currently exceeds 2,330 MW on the Iberian Peninsula, almost all of which is located in Spain.
