Today, the long-awaited Decree-Law no. 99/2024, dated December 3, 2024, was published. This legislation partially transposes Directive (EU) 2023/2413, of October 18 (RED III) into Portuguese law, introducing amendments to Decree-Law No. 15/2022, of January 14 (DL 15/2022), which establishes the organization and operation of the National Electric System and Decree-Law no. 151-B/2013, of October 31 (DL 151-B/2013), which governs the legal framework for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
The key changes introduced are as follows:
(i) Definition and Scope of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) (Article 12 of DL no. 151-B/2013) – A new requirement mandates the submission of a scoping proposal (PDA) for renewable energy production facilities, if subject to EIA.
(ii) EIA Exemptions for Solar Power Facilities (Articles 42 and 62 of DL No. 15/2022) - Solar power facilities installed on buildings or artificial structures are now exempt from the EIA process. Additionally, the re-equipment of solar or wind power facilities is also exempt from EIA requirements.
(iii) Definitions of "armazenamento autónomo" and "armazenamento colocalizado" (Articles 3 and 11 of DL No. 15/2022) – The legislation differentiates between "armazenamento autónomo" and "armazenamento colocalizado", with the latter referring to storage facilities integrated with renewable energy production facilities or self-consumption production units (UPAC) connected at the same grid access point.
(iv) Amendment of Deadlines (Articles 14 and 55 of DL No. 15/2022) – The timelines for issuing production and operation licenses, as well as preliminary registration procedures, have been shortened and amended for increased efficiency.
(v) Contributions to Municipalities (Article 49 of DL No. 15/2022) – Operators of renewable energy production facilities or storage installations with a connection capacity exceeding 1 MVA (previously 50 MVA) must now provide, once and free of charge, a Self-Consumption Production Unit (UPAC) to the municipality where the facility is located. The installed capacity of this UPAC must equal 1% of the facility’s connection capacity (previously 0.3%).
(vi) Changes to the scope of the National Agricultural Reserve (RAN) (Article 50 of DL No. 15/2022) – Implementation areas of solar energy facilities, including internal and grid connection lines, can now include RAN-designated areas if they represent less than 10% of the total contracted area and are smaller than 1 hectare.
(vii) Self-Consumption (Article 83 and New Article 81-A of DL No. 15/2022) – Proximity requirements between UPACs and their associated consumption units have been revised. Additionally, Article 81-A introduces the possibility of automatic issuance of Operational Certificates for UPACs.
(viii) Energy registration and bilateral contracting activity (Articles 163-A to 163-F of DL No. 15/2022) – The decree establishes a legal basis for the registration and bilateral contracting of energy and/or capacity, with specific details to be defined in a future ordinance issued by the Government’s energy minister.
The decree will enter into force 15 days after its publication.
