Environmental groups demand tougher rules for renewables acceleration zones

Ten Portuguese environmental organisations, responding to the public consultation on the government's Renewable Energy Acceleration Zones programme, back the concept but demand stricter environmental and social safeguards. They warn that a reported plan to cap these zones at 1% of each municipality's area, letting municipalities choose freely, would undermine scientific planning, cut available land roughly tenfold, and could raise national electricity system costs by €1.2-1.7 billion yearly. They call for revising areas based on strategic environmental assessment, prioritising already artificialised land, mandatory local benefit plans, and shared governance involving APA, CCDR, DGEG and municipalities before further public discussion.}