EDP Renewables has received the government go-ahead to construct two new wind farms next year, applied for back in 2008.
The chairman of EDP Renováveis, João Manso Neto, said "the investment is a bit more than expected, to around €60 million. The two parks will together produce about 50 megawatts."
The original budget was €50 million to build the farms in Maunça in Batalha (20 megawatts) and Vigia in Viseu (28 megawatts).
The Secretary of State for Energy, Jorge Seguro Sanches, admitted at the end of October, that these two projects will attract subsidised tariffs, paid for by taxpayers.
Current policy is that renewable energy production facilities must pay their own way without the taxpayer being forced to shell out money in 'feed'in tariff' subdsidies. As these wind farms were applied for nine years ago and only now have been licensed, the government therefore is happy that this private company will be heavily subsidised by the State while it promoted a policy of 'zero subsidies.'
The Secretary of State for Energy also stressed that "the technological evolution, which has in recent years, combined with the strong national solar potential, has, however, imposed a paradigm shift in the renewable energy sector. It is in this context that the Government's current commitment to promoting renewable projects, without a feed-in tariff, is based on reducing the energy bill, especially for families."
This sort of guff does not excuse the licensing of two sizeable production units which will cost the taxpayers dear over the lifetime of the wind farms.
The company says it has been waiting since 2008 for approval, hinting that if the State is so slow in getting things done then the company should not be penalised as subsidy policies change.
Comments
You need to read up on real facts before posting untruthful statements. People like you need to embrace nuclear rather than spread wishy washy stories.
Why should any country have to follow examples? What's wrong with being inventiveness and forward thinking. Also I am curious as to why you used Fukashima to highlight the worry about nuclear? Why not be positive and look at Finland..for example?
Should Portugal follow the UK example and have another country running it's power stations, where costs go through the roof. There is always the worry of an accident at a nuclear reactor, such as the disaster at the Japanese nuclear reactor which has contaminated vast areas of land and may take up to a century for the area to recover from the contamination.
Green Energy is the the most sustainable and long lasting source of energy and it is here in abundance in the sun and wind.
I am impressed that the investment in renewable energy is a Portuguese enterprise and not heavily invested by foreign countries.
Unlike our dear old England, where Hinckley Point nuclear reactor starting price was 19 billion in 2008 and is now costing 50 billion.. yes 50 billion in 2017. China is a large steak holder in the Hinckley Point nuclear reactor programme, which is not good news for Britain as they will have anenormous power to influence the cost electricity in the future.
Where as in Portugal in 2016, the National Grid was completely run on renewable energy for 4 consecutive days, that is no oil or gas was used to generate power, I was impressed by this.
I would suggest that Portugal should continue to grow the new clean energy it is the way of the future.
As much as I can understand the position of the renewable energy company (REC), the government should not have granted them the consesion
based on old information/old technology. Here is why: the business case presented by the REC at the time is out of date. The technology has
advanced and is costing less for the same out put. Although the current government can not be blamed for mistakes in the past, they
can be held resonsible for the acceptance of a contact/agreement based on old technology and out of date costings.
Instead they should hev amended the offering and condition or simply declined the request. Time and again the Portuguese cisions
government makes decisions which are not to the benefit of the general public. I can not stop but wondering why this is the case and why
Europe is allowing this bad practice to continue. As a local tax payer I'm not pleased. Not my government!