The Secretary of Equipment and Infrastructures, Pedro Fino, announced today that the Madeira Electricity Company (EEM), has launched a tender to reinforce the use of renewable energies at the Paul da Serra wind farm, amounting to 12.7 million euros.
“What we are presenting today is a project that is currently under tender, worth 12.7 million euros which aims to re-equip the Paul da Serra wind farm. The farm is about 22 years old and the tender involves replacing the current five wind turbines with one. And now, with the current energy crisis, investment in renewable resources is absolutely vital for the archipelago.”
In addition, the President of Madeira, Miguel Albuquerque, affirmed that this project, which should start next year and be completed in 2024, will provide an estimated production of around 30 GWh/year, benefiting approximately 5,000 consumers in the region.
Pedro Fino stated that in the current context of the energy crisis, “a huge investment is being made on the part of EEM in the production of electric energy, through renewables, which is being complemented with other investments, encouraging consumption reduction, and the development of energy rehabilitation projects within the public housing sector.
He also added that, within the scope of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) package, an investment of 69 million euros is planned for the Calheta and Serra de Água hydroelectric power plants, with the reinstallation of greater capacity equipment. In addition to work being carried out on the two battery plants in Porto Santo and Madeira, and the development of smart grid public lighting and smart metres.
In turn, the President of EEM, Francisco Tabuada, said that “renewable wind power accounts for around 15% of total energy production in the region. Production from renewable sources in 2021 reached 32.6% and, with the entry into service of the new Calheta hydroelectric plant, the amount of electricity should increase to 40%. But, this will depend on the natural resources throughout the year, namely rain.”
According to Francisco Tabuada, in the first quarter of this year in Madeira, “wind resources were high, in the order of 47%,” allowing for an increase in wind renewable energy, while energy from hydroelectric resources decreased.”
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
