Tiago Petinga / Lusa
The Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho
With the auction scheduled for September 14, the Government intends to reinforce the storage capacity of the electricity grid, make better use of excess renewable production and create annual compensation for municipalities that host battery projects.
The Government is preparing an auction for electricity storage in batteries for September, divided between autonomous projects and projects associated with existing renewable plants, with the aim of accelerating the integration of renewable energy into the grid, reducing production waste and creating new revenue for municipalities.
The measure is part of the National Strategy for Energy Storageby the Government on Monday, and comes at a time when the Portuguese electrical system is increasingly producing renewable electricity, but needs more capacity to store energy during periods of greater solar and wind production and release it when demand increases.
In practice, the Government intends to launch a modality to autonomous storagewith a capacity equivalent to around 750 MW, and another for renewable projects with surplus capacity, which can associate batteries with their plants, with an additional approximately 300 MW.
The actual auction is scheduled for September 14thafter a period of testing the competition pieces and possible adjustments to the rules.
A The main new feature is the local compensation model. Municipalities will now receive a portion of the revenue associated with storage projects installed in their territory, both through the auction and a contribution from promoters.
According to , in autonomous projects it must be delivered to the municipalities 30% of the revenue obtained within the scope of the auction. In “surplus capacity” projects, the percentage rises to 70%. Furthermore, promoters are obliged to deliver 2.5% of net revenue to municipalities of the projects.
The competition also includes a 20% increase for projects that include agrivoltaic componentthat is, solutions that combine energy production and agricultural activity in the same space.
According to the strategy presented by the Government, Portugal should reach 2030 with at least 3 GW of batteries and 3.9 GW of hydro pumping. In 2040, the targets rise to 4.5 GW and 5.26 GW, respectively.
The Government argues that storage is essential to provide flexibility to the network, strengthen security of supply and make better use of renewable production.
No batteries or water pumping at scale sufficient, part of the electricity produced in hours of sunshine or abundant wind may lose value or be wasted due to lack of drainage capacity.
The package announced by the Government also includes other medium and long-term contracting mechanisms, such as contracts for differencedesigned to reduce the exposure of consumers and investors to price volatility.
In the short term, the most visible change will be the opening of the auction. In the medium term, the objective is for batteries are no longer a residual supplement of renewables and become a centerpiece of the electrical system Portuguese.
