Portugal’s government has launched a process to assign over 1,000 areas for wind and solar projects around existing grid connections, which can be fast-tracked thanks to their low potential for environmental conflicts.

Renewable Energy Expansion

The so-called “Green Map” identifies 1,302 priority areas for renewable development – 792 for solar and 510 for wind. This is part of a plan to streamline permitting and give developers greater certainty on where projects can be easily built.

The government opened a public consultation that will run until July 15, seeking input from citizens, municipalities, environmental groups, and project developers to refine the plan before taking a final decision.

Portugal’s renewable capacity has expanded steadily over the past decade, with solar rising from about 1 gigawatt in 2016 to nearly 7 GW in 2025, while wind — a longer-established technology — has grown by around 10% to about 5.6 GW.

Renewable power covered about 80% of Portugal’s electricity consumption in the first quarter of 2026.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.