Latest news with #MariaDaGracaCarvalho
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Portugal to invest $466 million to boost grid management, battery storage after outage
LISBON, July 28 (Reuters) - The Portuguese government plans to invest up to 400 million euros ($466 million) to improve grid management and boost battery storage following a massive blackout across Spain and Portugal in April. Energy Minister Maria da Graca Carvalho said on Monday about 137 million euros of the investment would go towards improving the operational and control capacity of the electricity grid to help it deal with complex intermittent renewable power sources such as wind and solar. The Spanish government said in a report last month that grid operator Redeia ( opens new tab had miscalculated the correct mix of energy in the system on April 28, but also blamed some thermal power plants using coal, gas and nuclear, for failing to help maintain an appropriate voltage level. A surge in voltage triggered a cascade of power plant disconnections, leading to the outage that spread to Portugal, which was importing electricity at the time. Portuguese grid operator REN ( opens new tab will install a so-called shunt device to accurately measure electrical current and prevent overloads as well as equipment to regulate voltage, improve power system stability and ensure consistent energy delivery, according to the plan. Carvalho said that unlike in the past, when thermal power plants helped grid management with their stable supply, more renewable sources mean more intermittent and decentralised output which is harder to manage. "We have to make our grid more secure, digital and modern ... to support this new, more complex energy production model," she told a press conference, adding that the government would prepare a decree to speed up implementation of the investments. She also said the planned storage increase aimed to prevent a shutdown of the country, providing greater energy autonomy to critical infrastructure such as hospitals, fire departments, security forces, and other key public administration services. Portugal has only about 13 megawatts of battery storage capacity, and the goal is to reach 750 megawatts, although no timetable has been set yet. According to the latest daily data from REN, electricity consumption in Portugal stood at 115 GWh on June 20. ($1 = 0.8581 euros)
Telegraph
04-07-2025
- Climate
- Telegraph
The European coastlines that are disappearing fastest
Some of Europe's best-loved coastlines are disappearing before our eyes. Swathes of Spain's Costa del Sol, Malta's wild islands, the coves and cliffs of the French Riviera – all are under threat, stolen away by rising, tempestuous seas. In the Algarve, Portugal's Minister for Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, warned in April that 'emergency intervention' would be needed to replenish Fuseta Beach in Olhão after extensive storms. Some 150,000 cubic metres of sand will be required to restore its 600m-long, 30m-wide coastline in time for summer. In Spain, 30,000 cubic metres of sand are washed away every year from Barcelona's beaches alone; in 2024, the province lost up to 25m of sand to storms, according to local authorities. Barcelona's beaches are augmented by artificial sand, but of the 700,000 cubic metres added to the coastline in 2010, an estimated 70 per cent has now disappeared. What causes coastal erosion? It is a natural process, but it is often exacerbated by human and climate factors, says Maria Ferreira, Director of International Programme at the Coastal & Marine Union (EUCC), which promotes sustainable coastal development in Europe. 'Storms are a significant cause of coastal erosion, particularly for rapid and dramatic shoreline changes,' she explains. 'Other natural factors such as waves, currents, wind, sea level rise, and changes in sediment supply play crucial roles. 'Human activities further complicate and intensify these processes, making coastal erosion a complex challenge.' This could be housing or golf course developments on clifftops, dredging, the construction of coastal barriers or deforestation of mangroves. Experts predict that as the climate crisis deepens, coastal erosion will worsen. 'With projected sea level rise of around one metre over the next century, the delivery of wave energy will increase due to longer exposure times,' explains Dr John Barlow, Associate Professor in Applied Geomorphology at the University of Sussex. 'We can therefore expect an acceleration in erosion rates.' It seems that no area of Europe is immune to the effects. In 2021, satellite photo comparisons of the Greek coastline by the European Space Agency revealed that 10 per cent had receded by more than three metres per annum between 1995 and 2020, with some areas such as deltas and estuaries retreating by up to 30m every year. Britain's shores, too, are under threat. According to the Environment Agency, East Anglia has 'some of the fastest eroding coasts in Europe': in 2023, it reported that more than 2,500 homes in Norfolk and Suffolk are at direct risk from coastal erosion. The UK's other fast-deteriorating holiday destinations include West Bay in Dorset, Newhaven and Birling Gap in East Sussex, and parts of Cornwall such as Newquay and Perranuthnoe. Here we detail the European destinations that are suffering the most from coastal erosion, and what is being done to protect them. Europe's most at-risk holiday hotspots Nouvelle-Aquitaine coast, France More than a quarter of France's coastline is at risk from coastal erosion, according to Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM) – the nation's geological survey. One such area is Nouvelle-Aquitaine: 'By 2050, the sandy coastline of the Gironde and Landes region could lose an average of 50m, and the rocky coastline of the Basque country 27m,' the BRGM warns. 'In Charente-Maritime, on the Pointe de Gatseau at the southern tip of Ile d'Oléron, the sea nibbles away some 20m on average every year.' To keep track of the changing coastline and inform conservation projects, local authorities have launched the CoastSnap initiative. It asks visitors to upload photographs of key marine areas, enabling conservationists to monitor how the landscape is changing. Andalucia, Spain If you've ever visited Andalucia's beaches in springtime, you will have witnessed how winter's storms claim the sands along the Costa del Sol, in areas such as Malaga, Nerja and Torremolinos. The Spanish government has declared it 'a situation of serious regression', with a loss of 45m worth of beach in some areas between 2016 and 2022. As well as weather events and rising seas, the damage has also been attributed to local construction, such as beach bars, golf courses and housing developments. A new coastal modelling tool developed by the University of Oxford's Environmental Change Institute, CoastalME, is currently being used to map Andalucia's 1,200km coastline for the first time, in a bid to better understand and manage its conservation. Zakynthos, Greece This summer, the most famous beach on this Ionian island will remain closed for a third year, authorities have announced, due to erosion of the bay and cliffs. Navagio Beach or 'Shipwreck Beach', so-called for the wreck of the MV Panagiotis that ran aground here in 1980, has suffered erosion from high tourism activity, earthquakes, landslides and storms in recent years. Parts of the schooner itself have begun deteriorating too. In 2028, seven people were injured by a falling cliff. Atlantic coast, Portugal In January, Portugal announced it will invest €20.2 million (£17.01 million) in the preservation and protection of its Atlantic coastline, including areas such as the Algarve, Lisbon and Porto. An estimated 20 per cent of its 943km coastline is being eroded by six to eight metres per year, and coastal protection has been declared a 'national priority' by the government. The funding will support several coastal protection and defence projects, such as the strengthening of sea cliffs, removal of illegal developments and replenishment of beaches. Bonifacio, Corsica, France On the south coast of Corsica, this old defensive town and its citadel are perched on clifftops overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Bonifacio was founded in 828, and, over the centuries, the waves have carved away at the cliff base: in some instances, the buildings and rocks have been almost completely undercut. Authorities have declared 30 houses at risk of falling into the sea, and in 2023 two large faults were identified in the crumbling cliffs.
Reuters
25-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Portugal says power outage shows need for EU to help fund grid modernisation
LISBON, June 25 (Reuters) - Iberia's blackout in April showed that European grids must modernise to cope with more renewable power generation, and Portugal wants the EU to help finance these investments, its energy minister told Reuters on Wednesday. Energy minister Maria da Graca Carvalho said that unlike in the past, when thermal power plants facilitated grid management with their stable supply, more renewable sources such as wind and solar mean more intermittency and decentralised output which are harder to manage. "The blackout made it clear there is a need for greater modernisation, digitalisation of the grids, applying data science, storing data, in order to understand what is happening in a more complex system and reacting to it," she said. "It requires investment and we have been asking the European Commission to guide Europe in this investment and also help co-finance it because it is also a security issue," she said. The Commission has estimated that to meet its clean energy transition targets, EU countries would need to invest 584 billion euros ($679 billion) to expand and modernise electricity grids by 2030. In May, it launched a public consultation to receive input for the future European Grids Package, which is expected to be finalised by the end of 2025. The Spanish government said in a report last week that grid operator Redeia ( opens new tab had miscalculated the correct mix of energy in the system on April 28, but also blamed some thermal power plants using coal, gas and nuclear, for failing to help maintain an appropriate voltage level. A surge in voltage triggered a cascade of power plant disconnections, ultimately leading to the outage that spread to Portugal. The minister said the report still lacked clarity and Portugal was awaiting an independent report from the European energy regulators' agency ACER to understand what caused the outage and what needs to be done to "avoid future blackouts and, if they occur, to be able to restart (the system) more quickly". ($1 = 0.8605 euros)
Reuters
11-06-2025
- Science
- Reuters
Portugal leads marine protection with new designated area
LISBON, June 11 (Reuters) - Portugal said on Wednesday it was creating a new protected marine area around the Gorringe Ridge in the Atlantic Ocean that includes Western Europe's tallest seamount, positioning itself as a leader on the way to international conservation goals. The announcement by Environment Minister Maria da Graca Carvalho comes as countries gather in the French city of Nice for the third U.N. Oceans conference, aiming to accelerate action to preserve marine environments. Carvalho said that with the Gorringe marine protected area (MPA), some 200 km (124 miles) off the southern coast of continental Portugal, and two smaller areas to be created, the share of its seas protected would rise to at least 27% from 19%. "In terms of marine protection we are the most advanced country in the world with our characteristics combining continental and insular territory. Certainly the leader in Europe," she said. The creation of more MPAs globally is a key goal of the U.N. conference amid a push to get more countries to ratify and implement the 2023 High Seas Treaty, which provides a legal framework to protect biodiversity in international waters. So far, 51 countries have ratified the treaty, just short of the 60 needed for it to become legally binding. According to a report from last October, 8.4% of the world's marine and coastal areas were protected, less than a third of the way to a global goal of 30% by 2030. Carvalho said the creation of the MPA was expected to be approved by decree in the next couple of months, with total acreage and detail on how much will be designated as a fully protected area, where no fishing is allowed, to be determined. Emanuel Gonçalves, chief scientist at Oceano Azul Foundation, which mapped the area with the Portuguese navy and whose findings informed the government decision, said the recommended MPA would total 100,000 square kilometres (38,610 square miles). "A large-scale MPA like this, if fully protected, will functionally connect seamounts, abyssal plains, and open ocean, and create a safe haven to highly mobile and migratory species, and deep sea habitats," he said. "It will provide a fertile nursery and feeding ground for turtles, sharks, marine mammals, sea birds and tunas, expand or restore kelp and coral forests and create a sanctuary for the unique breeding aggregation of torpedo rays." Last year, Portugal created the largest protected area in the North Atlantic, encompassing almost 300,000 sq km around the Azores archipelago, half of it fully-protected.
Reuters
27-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Portugal wants EU to pressure reluctant France on power connections
CASCAIS, Portugal, May 27 (Reuters) - The EU must enforce common market rules to integrate the Iberian peninsula's power grid into wider Europe, overcoming France's reluctance to add interconnections, Portugal said on Tuesday, after a massive blackout hit the peninsula last month. The blackout, which started in Spain and also left mainland Portugal without electricity on April 28, could have been less crippling had the two countries had more interconnections to resume power supplies rather than just relying on their own power plants, according to experts and officials. Last Wednesday, the energy ministers of Spain and Portugal sent a letter to the EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen asking him to step in. "France has a lot of nuclear energy and does not have a great interest in importing cheaper renewable energy from Iberia," Portuguese Energy Minister Maria da Graca Carvalho told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Cascais, near Lisbon. But the European Commission can "pressure" France to comply with the rules of the EU electricity market, she added. "If we (Portugal) do something that is considered a barrier to the internal market, the Commission wastes no time in sending us a letter with a warning. So we expect the same attitude towards France," Carvalho said. Iberia lags behind the EU's target for all countries to have 15% of their energy system interconnected to the broader European network by 2030, with its share stuck at just 3%. Works to strengthen an existing interconnector between France and Spain are expected to wrap up this year, while a new underwater power line spanning the Bay of Biscay is set to be completed by 2028. Although French grid operator RTE has studied the feasibility of building two additional interconnections with Spain over the Pyrenees, Carvalho said they are not part of France's new plan until 2035, which she said "worries" her.
