Reserve capacity certificate and legal procedures under the Environmental Impact Assessment Regime

On July 14, the Portuguese Environmental Agency (“APA”) and the Directorate General of Energy and Geology (“DGEG”) issued a joint order to optimize case-by-case analysis and environmental impact assessment procedures for renewable energy generation and separate storage projects.

The APA and DGEG point out that, as several projects have not yet met the conditions for connecting to the Public Service Electricity Grid, procedure requirements must be established that can make project execution schedules compatible with the validity of the environmental decisions. This need is reinforced by the fact that projects that are at an advanced stage, such as the 2019 and 2020 Solar Auctions projects, cannot be delayed in detriment of projects that are not yet technically feasible.

Therefore, from the perspective of managing existing resources and capacities, the joint order aims to establish the requirements for Environmental Impact Assessment Regime procedures based on their progress and stresses that a reserve capacity certificate must be submitted.

You can read the text of the order here.