Portugal has come out with a new set of regulations that will guide it in the selection of energy generating projects under what it calls is the 'special regime' and general remuneration regime. The government has prioritized the dissemination of mature technologies, including solar.
While the installed capacity of solar is still rather small (432 MW end of 2017), there is a huge interest in unsubsidized solar systems. The government had awarded over 750 MW of applications by early January 2018.
These unsubsidized solar plants would exceed the grid capacity in some network areas. To address this issue, the Portuguese administration will now allocate licenses under a general remuneration scheme via lottery.
For this regulation, lottery will be drawn from applications that have already been filed earlier with the Directorate General for Energy and Geology (DGEG). A prize draw will be organized by the DGEG through a prior notice. It will factor in the network zone, technology to be used and the grid capacity of the region. A jury will then take the final call within 24 hours of the draw.
"This lottery seeks to ensure impartiality and transparency of the entire procedure for granting licenses or admission of prior communication for the production of electricity under the general regime (without tariffs charged to consumers), as an established remuneration regime by the Government, and by responding to the legitimate expectations of investors and pursuing the public interest, to accelerate the process of awarding outstanding production licenses," according to the country's official journal, Diario da Republica (DRE).
Further details are available on the website of DRE.