Good morning! Today's Pulse leans on water, sun and the slow work of recovery, with a few gold medals and wild lynx to lift the spirits.
A new Algarve 2030 call offers 20 million euros to upgrade urban water supply, sanitation and climate adaptation. The region still loses 30 percent of its water and reuses barely 3 percent of treated wastewater.
The island's desalination plant, its sole drinking water source, will grow daily output from 6,500 to 10,000 cubic metres by summer's end, with over 24 million euros in PRR investment.
Aguas do Douro e Paiva is investing over 440,000 euros in a mobile ultrafiltration unit for the Pousada-Gove station, improving treatment reliability from next summer.
Portugal has near-universal water access, but conventional plants struggle to remove pharmaceuticals, pesticides and PFAS. The revised 2024 EU directive demands quaternary treatment, with most costs falling on producers.
Mertola's council backs EDIA's plans for two new dams as vital for water security, while the Zero association demands a halt, calling them ecologically and economically irrational amid declining rainfall.
Chinese group Chint Solar has proposed three solar plants with battery storage, two paired with wind farms, across 2,616 hectares in Portel and Vidigueira. The project is in early public consultation.
Hyperion Renewables signed a 10-year deal to sell solar and wind power to Repsol from 2028, roughly 140,000 MWh a year, avoiding over 23,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.
Galp and its foundation inaugurated two solar self-consumption systems at parish centres in Alcoutim, raising the local total to nine, with plans for 16 more homes.
A new dispatch grants a full exemption on energy policy costs for self-consumption and energy community projects until 2029. With 237,000 consumers and 1.8 GW installed, Portugal could become a European leader.
Grid operator REN opened a public consultation on a power line between Carrapatelo and Vila Pouca de Aguiar, assessing 18 routes to relieve overloaded substations and admit new renewable projects.
The APPB admitted three biomethane producers as full members, strengthening its push to develop a national biomethane market and shape the transposition of the EU's RED III directive.
As the Iberian lynx expands across Portugal, recovery now depends on long-term coexistence with communities. The LPN urges monitoring perceptions, preparing habitats and cutting lynx mortality.
The 17th bird observation festival returns to Sagres from 2 to 5 October, featuring the razorbill, with ringing, field trips, workshops and talks.
The MARE centre warns Portugal's draft environmental education strategy for 2030 lacks deadlines, budgets and responsible parties, risking it becoming mere intentions on a shelf.
The LPN recognised the strategy's progress but called for more focus on soils and forests, stronger evaluation, clearer financing and nature-based learning with ongoing teacher training.
With about 5,200 residents, Porto Santo is limiting large-scale hotel development to avoid overtourism, favouring quality over volume and planning a carrying-capacity study.
The University of Coimbra leads a 2.9 million euro Horizon Europe project building a free platform to help replace high-warming fluorinated gases used in cooling systems.
The Polytechnic of Setubal hosts the NEXUS conference on 24-25 June, exploring digital and green transitions in maritime ports, from AI logistics to terminal automation and energy efficiency.
Beja will host the national irrigation and drainage congress from 30 September to 2 October, focusing on water efficiency, digitalisation and the Alqueva project's socioeconomic impact.
AJAP offers a free certified course in Silves from July on applying plant protection products, granting the mandatory professional card, with practical sessions and a meal allowance.
The Santa Casa da Misericordia de Beja won Gulbenkian backing for a project matching migrant labour with farms via a digital platform, plus training in skills, language and citizenship.
Pedalar Sem Idade Portugal hosts a free online session today with movement founder Ole Kassow, exploring how adapted trishaws fight isolation among seniors.
The Marriott resort near Obidos received the HEART We Care seal for its electric fleet, solar panels and plastic reduction, while nearing Green Key and BREEAM certification.
