The Government of Portugal has increased the target of its first offshore wind power auction to 10GW with an aim to expedite the energy transition.
Reuters reported that Environment Minister Duarte Cordeiro announced the decision this week.
In June this year, the government set a target of 6-8GW in its maiden offshore wind power auction, which is scheduled to take place next year.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to the energy crisis and compelled many countries to increasingly focus on renewable energy generation capacity.
Cordeiro said that a list of coastal locations and other technical aspects is currently being prepared.
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In his address to the parliamentary committee, he said: “We have urgency and we’re going to accelerate everything that is renewable.
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By GlobalData“We want to launch a large offshore wind auction and our ambition now is to reach 10GW of capacity.”
Portugal currently has 7.3GW of hydroelectric capacity and 5.6GW of onshore wind capacity, which collectively accounts for 83% of its total installed capacity.
The country also has a 25MW floating wind project located offshore from its Atlantic coast.
Last week, governments across Europe allocated €500bn ($491.9m) to support citizens and companies amid surging gas and power prices, Reuters reported citing a report by think-tank Bruegel.
European Union member states have allocated a total of €314bn for this purpose, while the UK has earmarked €178bn.
Bruegel said that including the cash allocated for nationalising, bailing out or providing loans to energy utilities, the total figure is closer to €450bn.
The governments announced various measures to rein in rising retail power prices such as reducing energy taxes and offering subsidies to bill-payers.
Following sanctions from the West and Europe over its invasion of Ukraine, Russia, in retaliation, has cut its fuel exports to Europe, which has caused a steep rise in gas and power prices.
