Wind power in Portugal
General
In
Portugal electricity represents 27% of the final energy consumption. In
2011, 46.8% of the electricity was based on renewable
energy sources,
mainly large hydro (nearly 22%) but also wind energy, an impressive result
taking into account that the share of renewables in electricity
generation was merely 18% in 2005. Wind has been the fastest growing
renewable energy source in
recent years. There are policies for 'convcentional' renewables like
wind energy (target 6,875 MW in 2020), but also for new renewables
such as wave energy: a pilot testing area has been allocated.
Portugal aims to enhance its environmental performance in energy laws, based in the
“Estratégia Nacional para a Energia” - RCM n.º 169/2005 (Energetic
National Strategy). In this context, Portugal is focused on a
more sustainable energy use based on best available technology and, in
the long term, support of development of new technologies.
According
to the Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources
the target for the share of energy from renewable sources in the gross
final consumption of energy in the year 2020 for Portugal is 31% (up from 20.5% in 2005 and approximately 22.5% in
2010). The Directive has a mandatory 10 %
target for transport to be achieved by all Member States, which refers
to renewable sources as a whole, not biofuels alone.
The
Portuguese economy was badly affected by the global economic and
financial crisis. One
of the conditions of the bailout by the EU (European Financial
Stability Facility, EFSF) and the IMF that Portugal will ‘reduce
subsidies to private producers of goods and services’. The second
revision of the memorandum of understanding setting the conditions for
the bailout commits the government to ‘review in a report the
efficiency of support schemes for renewables, covering their rationale,
their levels, and other relevant design elements.’ The revision does
not call specifically for cuts in subsidies for existing renewable
energy contracts, but commits the government to assessing whether a
lower feed-in tariff can be negotiated.
Renewable energy projections according to the National Renewable Energy Action Plan for Portugal
The
National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) for Portugal was
submitted in August 2010. The target according to Annex I of Directive
2009/28/EC is 31% for the year 2020 and the projected NREAP share in
that year exactly matches the target. According to the projection, the
most important contribution in the year 2020 is expected from biomass
(renewable heating and cooling) (2322 ktoe, 38% of all renewable
energy). The second important contribution is expected from wind power
(14.6 TWh or 1255 ktoe, 21% of all renewable energy). The third largest
contribution is from hydropower (14.1 TWh or 1210 ktoe, 20% of all
renewable energy). Wind power contributes with 6.9 GW (14.6 TWh) in the
year 2020 (onshore wind 6.8 GW and 14.4 TWh, offshore wind 0.1 GW and
0.2 TWh). For photovoltaic energy (PV) the 2020 contribution is projected to
be 1.0 GW (1.5 TWh). For solar thermal the 2020 contribution is
projected to be 160 ktoe. The two most important biofuels are projected
to contribute 450 ktoe (biodiesel) and 27 ktoe (bioethanol / bio-ETBE)
by 2020. The renewable electricity production from solid biomass is assumed to be 1.5 TWh (126 ktoe) and for biogas it is expected to be 0.5
TWh (45 ktoe). The consumption of renewable heat is expected to amount
to 1484 ktoe for solid biomass and 37 ktoe for biogas.
Renewable Electricity:
wind power
The
Portuguese goverment aimed to increase the level of renewable
electricity generation to meet 45% of the final electricity consumption
by 2010, an increase on the previous target of 39%. Portugal’s
well-designed feed-in tariffs for renewable energy sources enabled
it to attian a level of 46.8% renewables in electricity generation in 2011. In the years 2005 and 2007 new tariffs have been
published in Decree Law 33-A/2005 and 225/2007. Based on the current
tariffs realizations of renewables in the last years shows that the
level of the FIT, the duration of the scheme and the investment
security have been successful in attracting investors. The costs of
the FIT scheme are socialized among all electricity consumers. The
FIT is guaranteed for a period of 15 years, or an amount of 33 GWh per
MW capacity installed. The feed-in tariff for wind energy is 7.4 to 7.5 ct/kWh.
The formula for calculating the feed-in tariff takes into account the
avoided costs of investing in conventional power plants, the avoided
costs of operating and maintaining a conventional power plant, avoided
environmental costs in terms of CO2 emissions, and the inflation rate.
By
the end of 2010, the wind capacity in Portugal amounted to
approximately 3,700 MW. In december 2011, a 2-MW floating offshore wind
turbine was installed at the Portuguese coast near Povoà de Varzim. In
2005, Portugal raised its wind energy target to 5,100 MW by 2013. More information on renewable energy legislation can be found on http://www.apren.pt (associação portuguesa de energia renovaveis APREN).
Future programme changes
expected
As
in many other countries, criticism on renewable energy policy was
mainly focused on the level of expenditure related to subsidies and tax
exemptions. In a period of financial crisis, subsidies are obviously
subject to criticism, but in the case renewable energy it is evident
that reneables are an integral part of the re-launch of the Portuguese
economy. Therefore, renewable energy policies are unlikely to change
fundamentally.
Sources
Neves,
M, Ministry of Economy and Innovation, Portugese Republic, Promotion of
RES-E in Portugal, Fourth workshop of the International Feed-In
Cooperation, Ljubljana, October 18-19, 2007.
Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of
23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable
sources and amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC
and 2003/30/EC (Entry into force on June 25th, 2009), download from http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32009L0028:EN:NO
IEA: Energy Policies of IEA Countries – Portugal 2009 Review, 2009, http://www.iea.org/textbase/nppdf/free/2009/portugal2009.pdf (accessed January 2012)
Climate Law Org, Climate Justice: enforcing climate change law, http://www.climatelaw.org/laws/portugal/portugalenergy (accessed January 2012)
Wind Power Net, http://www.thewindpower.net/country_en_12_portugal.php (accessed January 2012)
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K.-D. Heer, O. Langniß: Promoting Renewable Energy Sources in Portugal – Possible Implications for China, Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research, Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart, Germany, June 2007, http://www.resource-solutions.org/pub_pdfs/Heer.and.Lagniss.Portugal.Study.pdf
(accessed January 2012)
Lorc Knowledge, http://www.lorc.dk/Knowledge/Offshore-renewables-map/Offshore-site-datasheet/WindFloat-Demonstration-Offshore-Wind-Farm/000061 (accessed January 2012)
Climate Policy Tracker: http://www.climatepolicytracker.eu/sites/all/files/Portugal2011_0.pdf (accessed January 2012)
Renewable Energy Report (Platts), January 23, 2012, pp 1-4.
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(accessed January 2012)The National Renewable Energy Action
Plans (NREAPs) are all published on the Transparency Platform on
Renewable Energy: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/renewables/transparency_platform/action_plan_en.htm
(accessed July - December 2010)
Renewable Energy Projections as Published in the National Renewable
Energy Action Plans of the European Member States, http://www.ecn.nl/nreap
(accessed December 2010)
Interactive EurObserv’ER Database
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Last update: January 2012
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