Renewable energy generation, electric vehicles, storage technologies, and hydrogen for mobility – contribution to the 2030 Portuguese energy and climate targets

Growing concerns with climate change has prompted governments for action. Portugal put forward ambitious targets through its National Energy and Climate Plan 2030 (PNEC2030) and the Roadmap for Carbon Neutrality 2050 (RNC2050) to reduce CO 2 emissions. In this context, the present work analyzes the Portuguese commitments under the 2030 scenarios presented in the PNEC2030 and RNC2050. Simulations of the Portuguese system were carried out using the simulator developed by the ISEL Energy Systems Research Group. This simulator, implemented in GAMS language, performs the unit commitment, economic dispatch, and hydrothermal coordination of the Portuguese power system that minimizes the full operational system costs. Base case results for 2030 showed a 42 GWh renewable energy curtailment. Measures to integrate this excess of renewable energy are presented both with additional storage systems and green hydrogen production.