Government says municipalities keep say over renewable energy zones

Portugal's deputy energy secretary Jean Barroca told Lusa that municipalities will have full autonomy to decide where renewable energy acceleration zones can be sited, through their local planning tools. He clarified that areas initially mapped under the sectoral programme (PSZAER), which drew over 9,000 public consultation submissions, are broad territorial zones, not specific project sites. Councils will select up to 1% of that mapped territory via their municipal master plans. Implementation will depend on a timeline still being agreed with the National Association of Municipalities, and projects will remain subject to existing environmental and licensing rules.