PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: Assunção Cristas, Catarina Pinto Correia and Carolina Vaza, VdA
Renewable Energy. This plan defines the areas and volumes of the national maritime space within the continental shelf for the commercial exploitation of renewable energy of oceanic origin or located in the ocean. • Resolution of the Council of Ministers 50/2024, that establishes the legal entity for the “Licens - ing of Renewable Energy Projects 2030” in the framework for the Recovery and Resilience Plan and in line with RePowerEU. It has a mission to ensure simplification of the legal and regulatory framework applicable to renewable energy projects through the implementation of a one-stop-shop for project licensing, the consolidation of the sector’s legal framework and the creation of a monitoring system, which results in effective monitoring and control of projects. • Resolution of the Council of Ministers 41/2024, that approves the Biomethane Action Plan 2024–2040. It foresees two phases, with different time horizons: a first phase that aims to create a biomethane market in Portugal, and a second phase that aims to strengthen and consolidate that biomethane market. In addition, a complementary axis is also presented, which will be transversal to the use of biomethane at a national level, and aims to ensure social and environmental sustainability. At EU level, the Renewable Energy Directive was revised by the amending Directive EU/2023/2413, and has been in force since 20 November 2023 and shall be transposed by member states in an 18-month period, with a shorter deadline of July 2024 for some provisions related to permitting for renewables. The purpose is to accelerate the EU’s independence from fossil fuels, raising the 2030 target to at least 42.5% (up from 32%), aiming for 45%, meaning that mem - ber states shall collectively ensure that the share of energy from renewable sources in the EU’s gross final consumption of energy reaches those targets by 2030. Though of broader scope, the regulation on estab - lishing a framework of measures for strengthening Europe’s net-zero technology products manufactur -
ing ecosystem (Net-Zero Industry Act), adopted on 27 May 2024, should also be mentioned. It recognises 19 net-zero technologies, including those related to renewable and nuclear energy, grid and energy stor - age, hydrogen, biogas and biomethane, carbon cap - ture and storage, and biotechnologies, and creates favourable conditions for investment in such technolo - gies. This regulation is now pending publication in the Official Journal of the European Union and will enter into force on the day of its publication. 6.2 Other Support The Recovery and Resilience Plan, the national programme implementing the next generation EU strategic instruments to mitigate the economic and social impact of the environmental crisis, is aimed at providing investment opportunities for resilience, climate change and digital transition projects, and encompasses projects focused on renewable energy. Moreover, Ministerial Order No 98-A/2022 approved a regulation for an incentive system for production of renewable hydrogen and other renewable gases. The Portugal 2030 programme materialises the Partner - ship Agreement established between Portugal and the European Commission, which defines the major stra - tegic objectives for the implementation, between 2021 and 2027, of the overall amount of EUR23 billion from the EU funds for regional development, employment, social aid and innovation and territorial cohesion, just transition, maritime, fisheries and aquaculture. It is implemented through 12 programmes including the Sustainable 2030 programme dedicated to climate action and sustainability. This programme, with an allocation of EUR3.1 billion, is an important contribu - tion for the country to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, providing investments to answer the challenges of climate change adaptation, risk prevention and dis - aster resilience, the transition to a circular economy and sustainable urban mobility, and delivers on the EU’s strategic policy objective for a greener Europe implementing the Paris Agreement by investing in the energy transition, renewable energy and the fight against climate change.
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