SOLENERGE distinguished in national public policy award - Communication

Secretaria Regional do Turismo, Mobilidade e Infraestruturas

SOLENERGE, a financial incentive for the purchase of solar photovoltaic systems to be installed in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, was distinguished at the 2023 edition of the ISCTE Award, which annually distinguishes the most relevant public policies implemented in Portugal.

As such, the Regional Directorate for Energy was invited to present SOLENERGE to public policy students at ISCTE - University Institute of Lisbon at a session that also addressed the regional energy policy and the various measures underway resulting from the Regional Government's commitment to promoting energy transition in the archipelago.

During the session, SOLENERGE, which provides full support for the purchase and installation of solar photovoltaic systems in the Azores, was recognised as a model policy with the potential to be replicated at a national and international level.

This measure has been in force since September 2022, under Investment C14-i03-RAA- Energy Transition in the Azores as part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, with an overall allocation of €19,000,000.

As of April 30, 2024, 4,956 investment applications have been submitted, with an approved incentive of €13,357,080.88, corresponding to an approved capacity of 9,815.74 kW. A total of 790 applications have already received funding, representing an incentive amount of €6,970,621.73 and an installed capacity of 5033.68 kW.

As regards the achievement of the milestones to meet the proposed target of 11.2 MW installed in solar photovoltaic systems by the end of 2025, the first milestone has been reached, with an installed capacity of about 3.7 MW by November 30, 2023. The target for December 31, 2024, is the installation of a further 6.7 MW.