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The 1296 MW Sines coal plant in Portugal might be shut at midnight tonight, 14 January, virtually 9 years sooner than first deliberate. The EDP-owned plant is certainly one of solely two coal crops in Portugal, with the opposite, Pego, already scheduled to shut in November this 12 months. When it does, it can make Portugal the fourth nation in Europe to fully eradicate coal in electrical energy manufacturing for the reason that UN Paris local weather settlement was signed – following within the footsteps of Belgium (2016), and Austria and Sweden (2020).
“Sines has represented, on average, 12 percent of the total Portuguese greenhouse gas emissions. Its closure is the most important step for a decarbonised future and a clear consequence of several years of civil society pressure,” mentioned Francisco Ferreira, president of the board of Portuguese environmental NGO, ZERO.
The closure comes simply two days after EDP Group’s, EDP Renováveis, introduced that the European Investment Bank has agreed to offer the corporate with EUR 65 million to finance the development and operation of two onshore wind farms within the districts of Coimbra and Guarda, with a complete nominal capability of 125 MW [1]. “In 4 years, Portugal has gone from having a tough technique to exit coal by 2030, to concrete plans to be coal free by 12 months’s finish.
Sines going offline even sooner than anticipated underscores the fact that after a rustic commits to wash vitality, the economics of renewables ship the transition in a short time,” mentioned Kathrin Gutmann, Europe Beyond Coal marketing campaign director. “Countries like Germany, Czech Republic and Poland who have committed to, or are considering coal phase out dates well after the needed 2030 end for coal in Europe should take note: not choosing ambitious phase-outs will leave you playing catch up as they happen anyway.”
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