The fifth edition of Energyear Portugal, which brought together over 400 attendees, 50 speakers, and 40 partners, took place at a pivotal moment for Portugal's renewable energy industry. By the end of the year, renewable energies set records in the country, accounting for 71% of national electricity consumption. However, despite this optimism, there are still obstacles for the sector. At the event, panelists discussed how to accelerate the energy transition in Portugal to meet 2030 goals and addressed the main bottlenecks delaying renewable projects.

The first panel, titled "Accelerating Portugal's Energy Transition: The Path to 2030 Goals" and moderated by Miguel Ferreira, CEO of Megajoule, gathered prominent experts in the energy sector: Paulo Partidário, Director of Services at DGEG (Direção Geral de Energia e Geologia), Pedro Amaral Jorge, CEO of APREN, Teresa Ponce de Leão, President of the Governing Board of LNEG (Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia), and Hugo Carvalho, President of EMER 2030.

Partidário emphasized that the acceleration of the energy transition is closely tied to the decarbonization process and the underlying economy. He stated, "The reality on the ground tells us that there is a lot of mature technology that needs investment so that we can contribute to the European value chain, in which our companies can participate, including wind and solar energy, heat pumps, hydrogen and its derivatives, biomethane, etc."

During his speech, he highlighted the importance of energizing each member state and the European Commission in this process, and addressing national issues regarding implementation and best business practices, particularly in public procurement and auctions. "We need to promote actions that show companies that manufacture equipment, promoting and stimulating these companies so they can cooperate internationally."

Financial and regulatory challenges

Pedro Amaral Jorge addressed financial and political issues, noting that while Donald Trump’s phenomenon may be a threat to renewables, "it will mainly affect the United States." In Europe, he emphasized that the focus should be on resilience and the competitiveness of the economy through lower energy costs. He also identified several "elephants in the room" that hinder the transition, such as the licensing process, land management with other economic agents, regulatory and fiscal stability, and fiscal volatility.

Regarding the electricity market, he underscored the need to design a system that attracts the necessary financial resources for the sector: "In my opinion, the only solution is forward markets, which must have two dimensions: differentiated quotas promoted by the market and public guarantees for implementing long-term PPAs." He assured that "forward markets must be implemented as quickly as possible because Portugal has an energy sector that could become the most contributing sector to the country's economy, even surpassing tourism."

Need for an integrated and collaborative approach

Teresa Ponce de Leão highlighted three essential dimensions to achieve clean energy technologies: security, resilience, and accessibility. Regarding the threat to the renewable sector posed by Donald Trump’s arrival at the White House, the expert stressed the need for coherent and collaborative policies among European countries to address global uncertainties and turn Europe into a united front. "We need to create coherent and collaborative policies among European countries to transform the continent into a strong one," concluded Teresa Ponce de Leão. She also emphasized the importance of a broader and integrated approach, which includes collaboration with emerging countries, supported by Europe. "We achieve nothing if we don’t collaborate between institutions. In recent meetings I’ve attended, collaboration and Artificial Intelligence have been the most repeated words," she stated.

Artificial Intelligence (AI), according to Ponce de Leão, has great potential to accelerate energy transition processes, especially in grid management, storage, industrial process efficiency, and transportation decarbonization. However, she also warned about the increased consumption derived from AI, stating that "AI itself can help reduce consumption, using data centers in areas with renewable power to implement it."

Hugo Carvalho emphasized the structure that Portugal has to accelerate the energy transition, highlighting that the country has natural resources like water, sun, and wind, which represent a great economic opportunity. "The rich countries of the world became rich because they had energy resources, and Portugal has water, sun, and wind," he highlighted. However, he stressed that the public administration must commit to not wasting these opportunities. "The law is quite good, but the process doesn’t work; we need to streamline the processes and eliminate interpretations and institutional conflicts that hinder progress."

Carvalho shared during his speech that they are working to create a digital portal to streamline licensing procedures and promote transparency in the distribution and transport of energy. "The country is committed to international energy goals, but we can’t thrive well in Portugal when we have a national mission and municipal representatives living in another century," he commented.

Throughout the presentations, several important challenges were highlighted. Paulo Partidário, for example, mentioned that storage initiatives must urgently be advanced, stating, "There’s a lot of delay with this." Pedro Amaral Jorge also considered the Trump phenomenon to be an opportunity for Europe, as it could attract investors, as long as the right market conditions are created to capture long-term money.

Regarding project hybridization, Teresa Ponce de Leão emphasized that while combining storage and renewable energy could be key to the future, "they don’t have the necessary legislative conditions" for proper development. She also highlighted methane as a great opportunity for Portugal.

In summary, Portugal’s energy transition faces several challenges but also presents great opportunities, especially if the country takes advantage of its natural resources and streamlines regulatory and financial processes. The path to 2030 goals requires a collaborative approach, a long-term vision, and the implementation of innovative technologies that can accelerate progress toward a more sustainable future.

Overcoming bottlenecks: Defining the regulatory framework to accelerate renewable projects

During the event, the main bottlenecks affecting renewable projects in the Iberian Peninsula were also discussed. In the second panel, titled "Overcoming Bottlenecks: Defining the Regulatory, Fiscal, and Support Framework to Accelerate Renewable Energy Projects", moderated by Francisco Santos Costa of Cuatrecasas, prominent experts shared their perspectives on the barriers hindering the progress of the energy transition.

Isabel Rodríguez de Rivera, General Director of Clean Energy Equity Investments at Nuveen Infrastructure, highlighted the lack of new connections and the shortage of grid infrastructure as key issues in both countries (Spain and Portugal). "The investor seeks stability, and not having security about when the project will connect has a massive impact," she noted.

She also mentioned that in Spain, the mass production of solar parks is leading to negative prices, a challenge that can only be addressed if battery integration is properly regulated to improve system stability. "Regulation must support battery integration," she emphasized.

Afonso Coelho, Business Development Manager at Lightsource bp, pointed out the main bottlenecks as the lack of structural response from authorities and the failure to meet deadlines, which delay projects. He also criticized the municipal licensing system, where "the law is not always respected."

Renato Carvalho Viana, Head of Portugal at R.Power, mentioned that while the law has improved, its applicability is still questionable and lacks centrality for the future. "It’s a job that doesn’t only depend on the government; the national plan must be fulfilled, but legislation doesn’t reach everywhere, especially at the municipal level," he expressed. He also emphasized the importance of predictability and the need for platforms to provide visibility on future changes to projects.

From a fiscal perspective, Serena Cabrita Neto, Partner in charge of the Tax Department at Cuatrecasas, pointed out the fiscal disadvantage Portugal faces compared to other European countries. "Our maximum VAT rate is one of the highest in Europe, and the lack of a clear legislative framework allows institutions to interpret the laws as they wish, generating uncertainty and litigation", she explained.

She added that constant fiscal changes are one of the main causes of rising project costs, stressing that "ending tax incentives can negatively impact the success of a project." She recommended that Portugal look at countries like Germany, France, and Italy to learn from their more stable and efficient fiscal frameworks.