The Portuguese government published a revised version of the National Energy and Climate Plan for 2030 (Plano Nacional de Energia e Clima para 2030) (“PNEC”), just a few days after Spain's revision of its energy and climate plan (PNIEC).

Published on 30 June, this awaited PNEC revision sets the ambitious target of a minimum 85% renewable energy sources contribution by 2030 to electricity generation, surpassing Spain's mark of 81% renewable energy integration.

The new PNEC version outlines a significantly increased solar capacity by 2030 of 20.4 GW:

• Centralized photovoltaic production capacity reaching 14.9 GW, which is twice the initial projection of 7 GW, a 90% increase from the current operational capacity of 1.5 GW;
• Self-consumption solar production is set to reach 5.5 GW, surpassing the previous goal of 2 GW and representing an increase of around 75% over the current 1.1 GW.

The plan highlights the importance of wind energy, which is expected to play a significant role with:

• 10.4 GW for onshore wind, compared to the previous PNEC's 9 GW and the current operational capacity of 5.7 GW;
• 2 GW for offshore wind, setting an increase from the current projection of 0.3 GW and matching the capacity of the first auction to be launched by the Government at the end of the year. being expected that the remaining 8 GW will be auctioned until 2030, becoming operational from 2030 onwards.

The new PNEC version also prioritizes green hydrogen, aiming at 5.5 GW of green hydrogen generation electrolyzers. This more than doubles the capacity of 2.5 GW in the previous plan.

Overall, the Portuguese government envisions a total electricity generation capacity of 47 GW by 2030, putting on a substantial increase compared to the currently projected capacity of 32 GW and significantly surpassing the current operational capacity of 23 GW. These targets compare very well with the Spanish PNIEC with 76 GW of solar energy, 62 GW of wind energy, and 11 GW for green hydrogen production, totalling 214 GW by 2030.

This revised PNEC will now be submitted to the European Commission to provide its recommendations in the coming months. The PNEC final version, after a public hearing phase, will be published by June 2024.