POWER July 2022 - 8

Floating Solar Project Supports
Portugal's Decarbonization
Strategy
The largest floating solar farm in Europe,
located on the reservoir for a hydroelectric
dam in Portugal, is expected
to begin producing power this month.
The July startup of the Alqueva installation
(Figure 1), on Western Europe's
largest artificial lake, is part of EDP's
plan to make its power generation net
zero by 2030.
EDP, which has 25.6 GW of installed
power generation capacity in its portfolio-of
which 78% is renewables-already
has plans to put a second, 70-MW
floating solar array on the lake at the
Alqueva Dam. The dam is on the Guadiana
River, among the longest rivers in the
Iberian Peninsula, in Alentejo, in southern
Portugal near the border with Spain.
EDP said the first of its two floating solar
farms will generate 7 GWh annually
from 12,000 solar panels. The array will
pair with a 1-MW/2-MWh battery energy
storage system. The installation will
connect to the power grid using existing
infrastructure from the hydropower
plant, and is expected to provide about
one-third of the electricity needed by the
nearby towns of Moura and Portel.
The Alqueva project (Figure 2) is part of
Portugal's effort to decarbonize its power
generation sector. The country shut down
its last coal-fired power plant in November,
closing the 628-MW Pego station
located northeast of Lisbon. Portugal still
has four natural gas-fired plants in operation,
according to government data. Much
of the country's power comes from more
than a dozen hydroelectric installations,
including the Alto Rabagão Dam, where
in 2017 EDP installed an 840-panel pilot
floating solar farm. That was the first project
in Europe that tested the pairing of
hydro and solar power.
" Portugal is in a great position to decarbonize
with strong hydro resources
on its rivers, good wind conditions on
the Atlantic coast, and some of Europe's
best solar locations in the south of the
country, " said Dr. Amir José Daou Pulido,
market development manager at Fluence,
a global energy storage and technology
services provider.
Pulido told POWER that Portugal's
reliance on renewable resources likely
means the country also will need to
add energy storage. " Ensuring a stable
power system with high levels of volatile
renewables may become increasingly
challenging, " Pulido said. " By integrating
energy storage into its power system,
Portugal will be able to shift energy
from the time of generation to when it is
needed. Integrating energy storage will
also reduce the reliance on fossil fuels in
flexibility and ancillary services markets.
The technology can also play a vital role
in enabling the power system to integrate
ever higher shares of renewables
by increasing the utilization of transmission
lines, reducing congestion on the
grid, and providing advanced ancillary
services such as virtual inertia via gridforming
inverters. "
Portugal historically has relied on Russia
for about 10% of its natural gas, but
the country has been among the most
vocal in calling for Europe to cut off Russian
supplies after Russia's invasion of
Ukraine. Portuguese officials have said
their country could import more liquefied
natural gas (LNG), and increase its LNG
export capacity to provide more natural
gas to other European nations.
Officials also have said they want to increase
the amount of renewable energy
resources in Portugal and have said the
Alqueva project is among many designed
with that in mind. BNZ, an independent
power producer that develops, builds,
and operates solar projects, recently announced
construction of a 49-MW solar
plant in Portugal. BNZ officials said the
plant will support a social project-Cuidar
Maior, or Greater City-in the municipality
of Vila Nova de Famalicão, in
Portugal's Norte region. Luis Selva, managing
director of BNZ, said, " The company's
main objective is the production
of 100% clean energy to help achieve a
low-carbon future, and Portugal is a priority
market for BNZ with strong growth
potential in the generation of renewable
technologies such as solar PV. "
Ana Paula Marques, an EDP executive
board member, said accelerating Portugal's
move to more renewable energy is
even more important in light of the war
in Ukraine. Marques said the Alqueva
project was part of EDP's strategy " to go
100% green by 2030. "
" Portugal is already one of Europe's
clean energy leaders with 60% of its
electricity
coming
from
renewables, "
1. The Alqueva Dam in Portugal is on the Guadiana River, one of the longest rivers in the
Iberian Peninsula. The dam was completed in 2002. The 518-MW power station at the site was
commissioned in two phases, in 2004 and 2013, respectively. Alqueva is the largest dam and
artificial lake in Western Europe. The solar array is expected to enter commercial operation this
month. Courtesy: EDP
8
www.powermag.com
said Pulido. He told POWER that the
center-left Socialist Party government,
elected in January of this year, " in early
April moved the target of reaching 80%
clean energy in electricity production
forward to 2026, four years earlier than
previously planned. The government
sees renewables as a way to guarantee
Portugal won't be dependent on energy
imports [often from fossil fuel sources],
and to ensure stable and affordable electricity
prices for the citizens. " Pulido said
João Galamba, the country's energy secretary,
" recently announced the intention
to simplify the development process
for PV plants, with projects under 50
MW not requiring environmental impact
assessments. This is to support faster
deployment of new solar projects. "
POWER | July 2022

http://www.powermag.com

POWER July 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER July 2022