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The weight of non-renewable sources in electricity production in Portugal remains very important. According to the 2018 report of the Association of Renewable Energy (APREN), fossil fuel-based production still accounts for 58%. High value for a group of Portuguese researchers who analyzed the potential of solar renewable sources to replace coal-fired power plants. This could even be the reality in Portugal in the years to come.
The study is presented by a group of researchers from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (ULisboa Sciences) and the Dom Luiz Institute, as well as by two researchers in the field of microeconomics of the ISCTE Business School and the University of Aveiro. Renewable alternatives to coal plants in Portugal are evaluated.
The study focuses on the solar resource – the star that governs our planetary system.There are only two coal plants in Portugal,
one in Sines and another in Pego. The fact remains that the
use of this system, although the environmental costs are high.
Scientists demonstrate that it is possible to shut down coal-fired power plants if they are replaced, for example, by elements producing photovoltaic solar energy.
To a large extent, the pumping capacity installed in the dams is sufficient to jointly manage this energy.
According to these researchers, such management will increase the share of renewable energy in the electricity system by 50 to 77%, reducing pollutant emissions by 56%.
Pedro Nunes, one of the researchers at the Faculty of Sciences of Ulisboa, said that this solution had no negative impact on the functioning of the system, nor on the trade balance. And that should provide cheaper energy.
To support the lack of coal sources, a total capacity of 8 GW of photovoltaic solar energy is required, which multiplies by 16 the existing capacity, which, given the very competitive costs of this technology, especially in countries where sunlight conditions are favorable, such as Portugal, is accessible before 2025.
"Yes, these plants [Pego e Sines] can be closed before 2029. They can be closed until 2025 (…) without affecting the functioning of the system, "explains Pedro Nunes, a thesis that already includes climate change in Portugal.
"This chapter is a fairly conservative study because we base our study on a year when water availability was very low."
Despite the advantage of large-scale electricity generation, the two coal-fired plants have a very negative impact on carbon dioxide emissions in Portugal. The two plants therefore represent nearly one-fifth of all CO2 emissions in the country.
Coal pollutes more
There are only two coal plants in Portugal, one in Sines, managed by EDP, and another in Pego, by Tejo Energia. Two powerful and valuable sources of electricity that do not work without raw materials. Coal is a resource that Portugal has no longer available since the closure of the Pejão mine in the north of the country in 1994. Since then, the factories have imported raw materials from Latin America, from Cuba. and Africa.
Despite the current intention to close these two plants, the fact remains that the use of this system remains cheap, even if the environmental costs are high. It is true that the implementation of alternative measures, which are environmentally friendly, but not yet sufficient, has been slow and gradual.
In the long run, combined cycle gas power plants could be used, but this resource is more expensive in Europe than coal. Therefore, not very viable. Dams and hydropower generation are still dependent on the climatic factor, with a high dependence on water falling from the sky. The strong bet then goes through the renewable wind, biomass and solar.
IDL ULisboa / DR Energy Transition Science Working Group
According to APREN's Bulletin on Renewable Electricity for March 2019, much of the energy produced in Portugal is still based on fossil-fuel power plants, with coal-fired power plants accounting for the largest share (18%). 7%), followed by natural gas (12.3%) and fossil cogeneration (10.4%), contributing to the emission of 2.9 million tonnes of CO2 to the environment.
Fortunately, the energy situation in our country is changing and, although these non-renewable combined sources still produce 4927 GWh (Giga Watt-hour), it is certain that renewable energies already occupy 58.5%, producing 6954 GWh of the total. of the energy produced.
So why the lack of investment in this type of source, more environmentally friendly and without the need to resort to limited raw materials? There is still the idea, associated with coal plants, that the cost of GWh remains cheap.
An idea refuted by the researcher of the University of Sciences of ULisboa, Pedro Nunes.
"Photovoltaic energy is currently less expensive to produce than the energy we are proposing to replace, coal. We are now able to produce photovoltaic energy at around 40 euros per MWh (megawatt hour), or MWh, while to produce coal-based energy, we have to spend between 60 and 90 euros per month. MWh. "This is due to the volatility of market prices.
Once the price issue is over, another question arises. If we replace these sources with other renewable sources, such as wind or solar, do not we risk that in the absence of wind or sun, we would be taken hostage? by the lack of energy? Researcher Pedro Nunes explains that it is also a false question, because the energy storage capacity already exists and is rarely used.
The current use of coal-fired power plants is the result of a struggle for energy balance. This is why Portugal has two highly polluting coal plants: Sines and Pego in operation in the electro-production system.The year 2030 was originally defined as the goal of the closure of the two Portuguese plants.
The Minister of the Environment recently made sure that the closure of
coal plants must be built before that date ".
The first is the largest in Europe with regard to CO2 emissions. There is, however, a widespread notion that coal plants are still fundamental in electrical systems because they safeguard variability and produce cheap energy Hence the prospect of running the two plants for another decade.
According to information provided by EDP, "the path of decarbonisation involves a profound change in the current fossil fuel-based economic model, with a strong commitment to energy efficiency and innovation and innovation. Electrification based on renewable energies is necessary.
Even with this behavior, EDP continues to use thermoelectric plants, for example, by referring to the fact that the Sines plant "accounts for about 15% of Portugal's energy consumption." Iberian Peninsula, Sines is top three of the most efficient coal-fired power plants on the peninsula. "
In 2019, 19 new photovoltaic installations were created in Portugal, Solara4 in Alcoutim being the largest installation ever in the country and one of the 20 largest solar power plants in the world.
In the same scenario, the electricity company says that in 2017, in terms of CO2 emissions, "the Sines plant had a CO2 emission factor of 0 , 89 TonCO2 / MWhe (emission of 8,396.3 ktonCO2 9,426 GWh of electricity produced), which would have been one of the lowest in the Iberian Peninsula. "
Values that meet the standards and environmental certifications of ISO 14001 and registration with the Environmental Management and Verification Regulation.
Nevertheless, the new rules impose high rates for the use of raw materials such as coal, which will reach 100% in 2022, which recently led the President of the EDP, António Mexia, to declare that these rates would penalize coal, forcing them to a quick closure.
Two years ago, the Minister of the Environment, José Matos Fernandes, had already set the goal of closing the two Portuguese power stations. More recently, the minister assured that the closure of coal-fired power plants should take place before this date, given the "clear commitment to renewable energy and the commitment of all" in this transition, even saying that there is no doubt that the country will be 100 years old. percent of renewables in 2050 ".
To this end, however, it is necessary to solve the problems related to the network connection of these plants, particularly in the south, and to the government to create the regulatory and market conditions necessary for the investment of developers in this technology. and to establish a system that actually encourages the adoption of distributed solar energy, says the ULisboa researcher.
This research work is developed as part of his Ph.D. in Sustainable Energy Systems and that Raquel Figueiredo is the first author of the article available. online in the Science Direct and which will be published in the June 10, 2019 edition of Journal of clean production. The advisor is Miguel Centeno Brito, professor in the Department of Geographical Engineering and Energy (DEGGE) of Sciences ULisboa and the coordinator is Pedro Nunes, professor of DEGGE Sciences ULisboa.
20 (19) Solar Power Plants in Portugal
While time is running out for the closure of existing coal plants in Portugal, the focus is now on creating alternatives and more environmentally friendly and cost effective solutions for the production of electricity. 39; electricity.
It is precisely in this sense that in recent years, investments in the field of renewable energies have been made, which have resulted in the creation of 19 new photovoltaic energy production areas this year alone.
It is mainly in the south of the country, where solar energy is present throughout the year, that national and international energy companies want their plants. An estimated investment of more than 350 million euros, of which the largest part (200 million euros) goes to the photovoltaic system of Solara4, in the municipality of Alcoutim, under the wind inside the city. # 39; Algarve.
This non-subsidized solar power plant in Europe, the largest in Portugal, is one of the 20 largest solar power plants in the world. According to the Ministry of Economy, will generate about 200 jobs in the construction phase.
The Solara4 plant extends over an area of 400 hectares and will produce 383 gigawatts of electricity annually, equivalent to the annual consumption of a city of 130,000 inhabitants like Amadora, Braga or Coimbra.
38 new plants will see the light of day by 2021, with
licenses issued by the Portuguese Government. National energy and
The climate provides for private investment by 2030 of the order of 18,000
million.
The technical management of the substation project is carried out by WElink, an Irish renewable energy company and partner of China Triumph International Engineering (CTIEC), contractor responsible for the works.
But it is not only Alcoutim, although it is the largest, that contributes to the enrichment of energy from the Sun.
In all 19 projects, the intensity of production is about 500 MVA (megavolt amps), or about 475 megawatts, which will generate about 880 gigawatts of solar energy, greater than that consumed in 2017 on the entire Madeira archipelago (808 GW – Pordata).
According to the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Transition (MATE), out of a total of 19 power plants, 53.8 MVA are already built (the power grid of the grid is Sb = 50 MVA).
Running in the sun in Portugal until 2021
Investment in the solar energy sector in Portugal is an increasingly safe reality, in a territory where sun exposure is present for three quarters of the year.
The proof is the programming of 38 new factories by 2021, already with licenses granted by the Portuguese government. In total, the National Plan for Energy and Climate (PNEC) provides for a private investment of about 18 billion euros in the production, transmission, distribution and storage networks of the country. 39 renewable energies by 2030, according to information from MATE.
New generation sources totaling 1500 MW (megawatts) ", corresponding to 1100 000 kva (kilovolt amperes) For the remaining 400 000 kva, digital certificates equivalent to production licenses have been issued, but are still awaiting the reception capacity of the network. "
The Portuguese sun race is not new and energy projects are expected to more than triple current production, from 572 MW to around 1600 MW. A clean generation with an economic reference of 45 euros per megawatt hour, representing the value of overtime production defined by the regulatory services of the entity.
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