Portugal pre-approves solar and wind sites in 170 councils

Portugal's government has pre-approved more than 800 areas across roughly 170 municipalities for faster licensing of solar and wind energy projects, minister António Leitão Amaro announced. The sites, chosen for their energy potential and existing renewable activity, cover about 1% of mainland Portugal and were selected after a public consultation weighing environmental, agricultural, water and heritage constraints. Projects there will benefit from shorter deadlines and exemptions from specific environmental impact assessments. The same cabinet meeting also approved a law requiring public bodies to share data so citizens no longer submit the same documents repeatedly.