The Government will take a new step in the field of renewable energy, with the launch of tenders for wind energy production auctions offshore, corresponding, for now, to a capacity of 2GW by 2030. Tenders are already being designed, says the Ministry of Environment and Energy in the State Budget proposal for 2026, presented this Thursday, in which it admits launching new tenders, later, up to a higher capacity, of 10GW.
One third of the total Environment and Energy expenditure planned for 2026 will be financed by the PRR (Recovery and Resilience Program). According to the State Budget proposal, total expenditure will amount to close to 2.5 billion euros, 4.9% more than the estimate for this year, with the PRR’s contribution being 823.2 million.
The Ministry of Environment and Energy will increase direct investment from 443 million euros this year to 512 million euros. At stake are the reinforcement of the electrical networks, the need for which became very evident with the blackout on April 28, and energy efficiency. From the investment plan, 18 million are also worth highlighting for the Alqueva photovoltaic program, highlighted in the report. Although the increase in investment was much more significant between 2024 and 2025, when it jumped from 88 million and quadrupled to 443 million euros, it will still grow by 69 million euros next year.
The strategic guidelines of the Government and the ministry led by Maria da Graça Carvalho include “reducing global dependence on fossil fuels in the transport sector, in particular through the progressive elimination of subsidies for fossil fuels and investment in sustainable transport, especially in rail transport, taking into account regional disparities”. But also by investing in renewable energy, increasing efficiency and combating energy poverty and also by investing in the use of water resources, among others.
Within the scope of that strategy, the Government will open the floodgates for wind energy offshorewith the launch of tenders for offshore wind energy production auctions corresponding to a capacity of 2GW. In this sense, it will launch the “Portugal offshore winds” initiative. Graça Carvalho’s ministry states that it is currently designing the competitions. And it assumes that “later, and depending on the maturity of the procedures and projects to be implemented, new auctions may be held in a phased manner and new capacities up to 10 GW may be allocated”. The objective is to “reinforce the stability of the electrical system, attracting the value chain of offshore technologies to the country”.
For that The Mission Structure for the Licensing of Renewable Energy Projects (EMER 2030) will be created, to make licensing more transparent, agile and simplified, which will also be responsible for the “Renewable Energy Acceleration Areas” and allocation of new capacity for renewable energy projectswhich the minister wants to make known very soon.
Obstacles to licensing have been highlighted as obstacles to the development of this sector, which nevertheless scores well on the international scene.
Thanks to the good national performance in energy production from renewable sources _which exceeded the 71% share in 2024 _, the Government will bring forward by four years the targets for the percentage of renewables in the energy mix, already to 2026. Therefore, it will review and implement the National Energy and Climate Plan (PNEC 2030), with “more ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and for renewable energies”. For agriculture, the minister highlights the agrovoltaic program, which “boosts renewable energy” in the agricultural sector and commits to “accelerating the licensing of self-consumption and the installation of Energy Communities”. To promote green reindustrialization, the ‘Electrointensive Consumer’ statute will be created to lower companies’ electricity bills.
In the water sector, the ‘Water that unites’ strategy foresees nine structuring programs and 294 measures that aim to reinforce the sustainability and security of water supply, with the aim also of preventing water losses. One of the most important will be the construction of the Algarve desalination plant, scheduled for completion in 2027, and the construction or intervention in five dams, Pomarão, Fagilde, Alportel, Foupana and Pisão.