Former Mining Areas: The New Frontier for Renewable Energy Projects in Portugal
A study by LNEG and EDM assesses the potential of degraded former mining areas for solar, wind and storage projects.
Land management and the shortage of available land are two of the biggest barriers for renewable energy developers in Portugal, since identifying sites that don't interfere with agricultural land, forests or vulnerable ecosystems delays environmental permitting. Against this backdrop, the Government launched a strategic assessment of the potential of degraded former mining areas for renewable energy generation.
The LNEG and EDM study
The study, carried out by LNEG (National Laboratory for Energy and Geology) in collaboration with EDM (Empresa de Desenvolvimento Mineiro), assesses the technical feasibility of installing photovoltaic solar plants, wind farms in mountainous former mining regions, and battery storage (BESS) solutions. The goal is twofold: accelerate the energy transition and promote the environmental recovery of abandoned or degraded areas.
- Already-artificialised land, reducing the risk of conflict with environmental groups and regulators
- Lower environmental and social pressure by avoiding agricultural, forest or high-ecological-value land
- Strong alignment with the Do No Significant Harm (DNSH) principle required under the PRR and PTRR