Renewable energy projects: Exceptional measures extended

Decree-Law 116/2024, published on December 30, 2024, extends for two years, until December 31, 2026, the exceptional measures to streamline the administrative procedures for the production of renewable energy established by Decree-Law 30-A/2022 of April 18^[1]. This extension aims to ensure the continuity and legal certainty of ongoing and future renewable energy projects, avoiding uncertainties that could compromise the country's strategic energy transition objectives.

Background:

The preamble to Decree-Law 116/2024 mentions the ongoing transposition into national law of Directive (EU) 2023/2413 (RED III Directive) on the promotion of energy from renewable sources. This transposition process, according to the preamble to this new legislation, makes it vital to consider whether the exceptional measures established in Decree-Law 30-A/2022 should be definitively integrated into the national regulatory framework. Let us recall that Decree-Law 99/2024—partially transposing the RED III Directive (see Legal Update)—was published on December 3.

Focus on the main measures in force until December 31, 2026:

• Exemption, under certain conditions, from the need for a prior license for commissioning renewable power plants, storage facilities, and self-consumption production units (“UPACs”).
• Outside sensitive areas, certain projects that do not exceed the limits established in the legal regime on environmental impact assessments (“EIA”) will only be subject to this assessment if the Directorate General of Energy and Geology (“DGEG”) considers that there are signs that the project is likely to have a significant impact on the environment.
• The existing wind power plants are able to feed all the energy they produce into the public service electricity grid (“RESP”).

• The procedures for prior control of projects for installing renewable power plants and UPACs with an installed capacity of 20MW or more, or primary wind-powered plants with at least 10 towers, must be accompanied by proposals to involve the local populations.
• In the case of alterations or extensions to the projects for producing hydrogen through water electrolysis, the EIA will only take place when the project exceeds certain thresholds or is considered likely to have significant impacts on the environment.
• The production of hydrogen through water electrolysis using electricity from renewable energy sources is not subject to the industrial emissions regime applicable to the integrated prevention and control of pollution.
• The regime for installing renewable energy electricity-producing plants, storage facilities, UPACs, and facilities for producing hydrogen through water electrolysis is as follows (with regard to prior urban development control):

1. Projects with a capacity of less than 1 MW are not subject to prior urban development control, but the project must first be communicated to the municipal council by submitting the appropriate declaration of responsibility. The municipal council will then inform the DGEG.
2. Projects with a capacity of more than 1 MW must be communicated to the municipal council, along with the opinions, authorizations, and approvals required by law. The mayor of the municipal council concerned has eight days to issue an order regarding the submitted communication (which may be to either perfect the application or reject it outright). This communication may be rejected, among other reasons, when it does not comply with the applicable laws and regulations or based on its negative impact on the landscape heritage, except in the following cases: (i) when there is a favorable or conditional favorable environmental impact statement, or (ii) the municipal territory makes up less than 2% of the total affected area, with all the installed projects, including those that were previously installed or are exempt from control, or with effective prior control permits for urban development operations. In the absence of express rejection by the municipality, within 30 days of approval, the interested party may begin the works.

• The installation of renewable power plants and storage facilities that obtain a prior control permit for urban development operations or that have been exempted from prior control is subject to new compensation for the municipalities paid out of the Environmental Fund. The compensation is €13,500 per MVA of allocated connection power, plus the compensation (assignments) expressed in Decree-Law 15/2022 of January 14. It should be noted that, on December 27, 2024, Order 15185-C/2024 of December 27 approved the Regulation on the Allocation of Compensation to Municipalities established in article 4-B of Decree-Law 30-A/2022 of April 18, as amended by Decree-Law 72/2022 of October 19.