Solar auction in Portugal sets lowest energy prices
● Portugal’s latest auction of contracts to build and operate new solar energy capacity set a world record for the lowest price of future output, the environment minister, Joao Pedro Matos Fernandes, said on Wednesday.
One of the winning bids was for output costing as little as à11.14 (about R220) per megawatt hour (MWh). That compares with a then-record minimum price per megawatt hour of à14.6 in Portugal’s first mega auction of 1,150MW of solar energy capacity in June last year.
Based on the locations where solar plants will be installed, auctions were held where the winners would be those offering the highest discounts to the bidding tariff of around à41/MWh.
“The auction was a success, even greater than it was a year ago,” Matos Fernandes told a news conference.
Of the 35 entities initially competing in the latest 700MW auction, there were six winners, with South Korean solar panel manufacturer Hanwha Q Cells grabbing a total of 315MW, Matos Fernandes said.
Other winners included Spanish utility Iberdrola and electricity group Endesa, winning one allotment each, as well as Germany’s TAG Energy, which was awarded two allotments.
The minister said 670MW of the 700MW were allocated, covering a total of 13 allotments mostly in the country’s sunny southern region.
Both licensing auctions of new solar energy capacity are set to help Portugal — among Europe’s sunniest countries — reach its ambition of having 7,000MW of renewable energy by 2030.
“We are in a position to reach 2030 with 80% of the energy we consume produced by renewable sources,” Matos Fernandes told the news conference.
“Auctions show that this is a clear and positive way to generate gains for consumers.”