Three solar plants with battery storage, two of them with wind farms, are planned for an area in the municipalities of Portel and Vidigueira, in Alentejo, with the Scope Definition Proposal (PDA) in public consultation.
Promoted by companies of the Chint Solar group, the project is named “Cluster Alqueva – Portel” and the corresponding Scope Definition Proposal (PDA), consulted by the Lusa agency, is in public consultation until July 3, on the Participa portal of the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA).
According to the PDA, the initiative encompasses two hybrid projects, each consisting of a photovoltaic solar plant and a wind farm, and another composed only of a photovoltaic solar plant.
A source from the Chint Solar group told Lusa that the investment estimated until licensing is completed is €13.5 million, stressing that the “overall value will depend on the final configuration that the project will take.”
Chint Solar will also “bear about €122 million in development costs for grid connection infrastructure in the region.”
These include, where necessary, electrical substations, lines and equipment needed to inject the energy into the national grid.
According to the same source, a total of 2,165,793 photovoltaic modules is planned to be installed across the three plants.
The PDA is an initial and mandatory phase of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process for renewable energy production, through which the scope of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is intended to be defined in a later stage.
According to the document, “each of the projects also includes an energy storage system with batteries,” with a total installed capacity of 895 megawatts (MW), which is intended “to provide greater flexibility and stability to the electrical system.”
The promoters explain that the batteries allow “optimizing the management of produced energy, reducing constraints associated with the intermittency of renewable sources, and strengthening the energy integration capacity into the electrical grid.”
The proposal states that the projects will be implemented on 10 cadastral parcels, or in other words, on 10 rural properties, spanning a total area of 2,616 hectares, of which about 585 hectares will be occupied by solar panels.
“Taken together, the projects should ensure an average annual electricity production of approximately 1,867.9 gigawatt-hours per year (GWh/year),” the promoters emphasize.
The energy produced will be injected into the Public Service Electrical Network (RESP), at the high-voltage substation to be built in the municipality of Portel, Évora district, through three extra-high voltage lines, one for each of the projects.
In a statement released last week, Chint Solar highlighted that the “Cluster Alqueva – Portel” fits within the group’s strategy of “contributing to the energy transition and strengthening national energy security, in line with the climate goals of Portugal and the European Union.”
“The submission of the PDA constitutes an initial and fundamental step in the Environmental Impact Assessment (AIA) process, allowing the scope, the level of detail, and the main environmental, social and territorial factors to be considered in the EIA,” he noted.
This procedure, he noted, “aims to ensure that the project development is analyzed rigorously, transparently and in an informed manner, including the evaluation of alternatives and the identification of appropriate mitigation measures.”
Chint Solar stressed that it intends to harmonize this project “with existing land uses, the protection of environmental values and the creation of opportunities for economic and social development for the region.”
“Throughout the EIA process, Chint Solar will work closely with the competent authorities and value public participation mechanisms, recognizing the importance of dialogue and the involvement of local communities in the evolution of the project,” promised the company.
