Wind Energy in Portugal
2022 wind energy numbers
In 2022, wind generation constituted 25.5% of electricity demand, similar to the record year of 2019. Moreover, R&D Project PivotBuoy successfully installed their new X30 floating platform in the Canary Islands, and it is currently being monitored.
In 2022, the new wind power capacity installed amounted to 28 MW. In an effort to support further onshore wind development, new legislation was published to facilitate the licensing procedures for repowering, overplanting and hybridisation of onshore power plants. Correspondingly, a ministerial working group was created by the Portuguese government to accelerate the offshore wind market, expecting a total installed capacity of 10 GW. The initial procedures to develop this capacity are expected to start in 2023. In addition, a separate ministerial working group has been established to identify less environmentally sensitive areas available for RES installations.
Please review Portugal’s chapter in the 2022 Annual Report.
National Targets
The 2030 targets for renewable power capacity were published in the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) [1]. The ambitious targets aim for a wind power capacity of 9.3 GW, which is set to include overcapacity, repowering, and 300 MW dedicated to offshore wind energy systems, by the end of 2030. Furthermore, the vision for 2050 was developed and added to the Portuguese Roadmap for Carbon Neutrality 2050 (RCN2050) [2]. The wind power capacity scenarios expected by 2050 range between 12.0 to 13.0 GW onshore and 0.2 to 1.3 GW offshore. However, in lieu of the global energy crisis, the Portuguese Government has since 2022 revised the plans NCEP2030 and RNC2050. In order to reach the goals of 2030 and 2050, will naturally require the increase of RES contribution in the energy mix. The target for the development of offshore wind was of special concern for the Portuguese Government. Therefore, a working group (WG) was created in the last trimester of 2022, to define development areas and capacity goals [3]. The WG creation certificate appointed a target of 10 GW exclusively for offshore wind projects, constituting a significant advance in wind energy capacity for Portugal.
Progress & Operational Details
During 2022, the wind power cumulative capacity increased by 28 MW (See Figure 1). By the end of year, the cumulative installed capacity was 5,671 MW distributed over 267 wind parks, each with 2,836 wind turbines [5]. The Portuguese wind power fleet generated 13.27 TWh, which accounts for approximately 26% of electricity demand [6-8].
The wind share of the total renewable energy production increased by 5% from 2021 to reach a total share of 45% in 2022 [5]. This slight increase is mainly due to the 30% decrease in hydropower production attributable to a dry year where the hydro generation index stood at 0.63. Furthermore, it was an average year regarding the wind regime. Solar power similarly increased by 5% from 2021, now standing at a 12% share.
National RDD Priorities and Budget
National R&D priorities for 2022 remained focused on training facilities and the design of different services for offshore wind industry. This includes the creation of a wind forum [9] dedicated to all actors evolving the local, regional, national and EU wind energy governance entities. Additionally, a new pioneer project concerning the handling of reuse, remanufacture and recycling of wind energy materials was launched. Most R&D activities take place at the main Portuguese institutes and universities and are funded through national and/ or European programmes.