Portugal needs new projects and wind farms to meet the objectives set for 2030 in the National Energy and Climate Plan (PNEC), argues the Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering (INEGI).
Currently, the country has 5,896 MW (megawatts) of wind energy in operation, of which 25 MW are ‘offshore’, while the PNEC “foresees a target of 6,300 MW by 2025 and 10,400 by 2030,” he explained, in statements to Lusa. , José Carlos Matos, director of the wind energy area of the INEGI, about the World Wind Day that is celebrated this Saturday and the publication of the Wind Farms in Portugal report for 2023, prepared in collaboration with the Portuguese Association of Renewable Energies (LEARN) .
“The growth in energy produced has been seen in existing projects, with the addition of energy or replacement of old generators, but, as in 2022, in 2023 there was no installation of new wind farms. And it is essential that new projects emerge to meet the objectives of the PNEC. We need new projects and accelerate. Without them we will not achieve the 2030 objectives,” the person in charge warned.
For José Carlos Matos, “it is not only about green energy, but also about qualified and well-paid employment.”
“We should not ignore the capacity of the sector to create employment,” he said.
According to the report, to which Lusa had access, the objectives of the PNEC are “ambitious and demanding, not only with regard to the development of projects, but also with regard to the participation of the national industry in the value chain, as well as the adaptation of infrastructure. , which will only be achieved under regulations published by the Portuguese State that are sufficiently attractive for such investments to occur.”
The document states that 2023 “confirms the recovery trend in the growth of generation capacity, after a period of certain stagnation, with around double that of the previous year having been installed, 166 MW.”
“It should be noted that a large part of this new installed capacity refers to over-equipment projects [aumento de potência] and a case of re-equipment. There was no installation of new wind farms, as in 2022,” the report adds.
The ongoing projects, “expected to be completed in 2024, add another 75 MW to the already installed capacity.”
Viseu is the district with the highest wind power (1,249.1 MW), followed by Coimbra (599 MW) and Vila Real (589 MW).
“Compared to other countries in Europe, Portugal is the tenth with the highest wind power. Germany heads this list, with 69.7 GW,” the document highlights.
Across the country, 2,862 wind turbines are installed and “wind energy is equivalent to more than a quarter of the electricity consumed in Portugal,” with INEGI “participating in 80% of the installed capacity.”
Source: Observadora
