News

Our own articles and interviews, and our summaries of what the Portuguese press reported on sustainability. The Pulse is the daily edition; this is the lasting entrance — every story on its own page.

What was reported

Energy
Minister floats using Lisbon's 25 de Abril Bridge to pipe Castelo de Bode water south
A bridge built for cars and trains may soon carry something else across the Tagus, as the government weighs a project it calls a big one.
3 November 2026Lisbon
Energy
Data centres must secure renewable supply but need not generate their own power, minister says
Sines already cools its data centre with seawater, and the minister holds it up as a model, while Spain weighs a far tougher hourly renewables rule.
3 November 2026
Energy
Os Verdes renew opposition as Curral das Freiras cable car works reportedly begin
The party likens the scheme to the Lugar de Baixo marina and says it has found a hidden cost to the public purse.
3 November 2026MadeiraIFCN
Energy
Opposition party attacks Curral das Freiras cable car concession as costly and environmentally risky
A monthly rent of €2,000 sits against a figure nearly twenty times higher in the government's own study, and a rare seabird is caught in the middle.
2 November 2026Madeira
Energy
Collective self-consumption schemes in Portugal jump 142% in eight months to over 2,100
A single June decree is credited with the surge, and it also reserves a share of the shared power for vulnerable households.
2 November 2026
Energy
Porto water utility director says the Water Pavilion should now explain how a city runs
Her idea is not to add more exhibits, but to change the question visitors are invited to ask.
2 November 2026NorteAdEPorto
Energy
Government sets protection zone around groundwater source serving 257 residents in Paredes de Coura
A single borehole serving fewer than 300 people now has its surroundings legally fenced off from polluting activity, with rules starting next week.
2 November 2026Norte
Energy
Campaigners urge Algarve to fix leaks and reuse water before building desalination plant
Only about 2% of treated wastewater is reused in the Algarve, a figure campaigners say shows where the money should go first.
31 October 2026AlgarveAssociação ALMARGEM
Energy
Hydropower concession revenues to fund Serra da Estrela ecological restoration
Fourteen dams in a 89,000-hectare park come off concession in 2028, and the government wants the next owners to pay for the mountain's recovery.
30 October 2026CentroICNF
Energy
Environment minister vows to overcome Albufeira's halt on Algarve desalination plant works
The mayor says he backs the plant, yet the minister reckons most of the work can carry on regardless, because the order may only cover the plot of land.
30 October 2026Algarve
Energy
Algarve presses for Faro–Seville railway by 2040 and a Guadiana bridge
A river crossing with €14 million already in hand and Portuguese studies finished is still waiting on a decision from the Spanish side.
30 October 2026Algarve
Energy
Turkish delegation visits Portuguese energy agency to learn residential efficiency practices
A World Bank-backed, EU-funded study trip brought five Turkish officials, businesspeople and academics to Portugal to see how households are nudged towards using less energy.
29 October 2026ADENE
Energy
Government to redraw Modernisation Fund priorities towards electric vehicles and heavy freight
The Climate Agency has until New Year's Eve to deliver the plan, and it also takes over running the fund from another body.
29 October 2026
Energy
Cabril Dam concession tender to open, with 45-year term and water reserve rules
29 October 2026Centro
Energy
Madeira's electricity output rises 4.9% in first nine months of year
Solar is growing fastest on the island, yet the fuel gaining the most ground in the mix is a fossil one.
29 October 2026Madeira
Energy
Civic movement to march in Lisbon against scaled-down Sophia solar plant
Despite a cut of more than a third to its capacity, the project still draws a protest from 21 organisations at Parque Eduardo VII.
29 October 2026CentroConverge Cooperativa da Cova da Beira
Energy
Guimarães mayor sets 2030 climate-neutrality path as European Green Capital
The title itself brings only 600,000 euros in prize money, and the mayor says many of the flagship projects were already in the pipeline.
28 October 2026Norte
Energy
Paredes de Coura opens €757,000 tender to upgrade Formariz industrial zone water supply
A new reservoir on a hilltop is meant to fix more than the factories' water, with homes and fire safety also in the plan.
28 October 2026Norte
Energy
Municipalities Fight Constitutional Court Ruling That Strikes Down Property Tax on Wind, Solar and Dams
The rules at stake have been applied for 23 years, yet the ruling has not even been voted on by the court's full plenary.
28 October 2026
Energy
New 410,000-litre water tank installed at Soeirinho to help fight wildfires
The tank stands on land lent by a local commons association, and it is only one of 19 planned across the Centre region.
28 October 2026CentroICNF
Energy
European Environment Agency recognises Alcanena leather centre for gas emissions monitoring expertise
A tannery-sector technology centre in a small Portuguese town now has a seat in Europe's environmental monitoring network, though no money or projects come with it yet.
28 October 2026Centro
Energy
Porto's municipal water and energy company wins international climate recognition
A city utility that once lost nearly a fifth of its water has cut that figure sharply, and it now turns wastewater into municipal supply.
28 October 2026NorteAdEPorto
Energy
Government to subsidise up to 80% of electric car purchases for low-income households
More than 20,000 cars are in line for the targeted scheme, while a separate 50 million euro pot stays open to everyone else.
28 October 2026
Energy
Sintra commits €2 million to water, sewage and waste collection upgrades
A treatment plant built for 9,000 people and stretched to 18,000 is finally due its overhaul, alongside a fresh round of bins.
27 October 2026Lisbon
Energy
EU city facility opens eighth call funding local energy investment plans
Earlier beneficiaries of the scheme report having secured almost €1.8 billion from an initial outlay of about €25 million.
27 October 2026
Energy
Madeira and Porto Santo asked to switch off outdoor lights for three hours to protect young seabirds
Despite its dramatic name, nothing will actually fail on the night, and even the island's airport plans to join in.
27 October 2026MadeiraSPEA
Energy
Ferreira do Alentejo biomethane plant planned, with public consultation open until 25 November
The plant would turn cattle slurry and olive pomace into gas for the national grid, but the project also brings dozens of daily lorry trips.
27 October 2026Alentejo
Energy
Sernancelhe mayor urges residents to object to floating solar plant on Vilar reservoir
The developer halved the number of panel islands, yet the same 30,744 modules remain, and the water is rated excellent.
26 October 2026NorteICNF
Energy
Torres Novas council moves to void approval step for Árgea biomethane plant
The mayor says lawyers have vetted the plan, yet he has not said which act is at stake or on what legal grounds.
26 October 2026Centro
Energy
FlixBus adds Loulé and Castro Verde to its Portuguese network with direct Lisbon links
A fare of 4.49 euros now takes passengers from the Algarve interior to the capital, and the same operator is also bringing its booking service into ChatGPT.
26 October 2026Algarve