The evaluation committee coordinated by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) rejected the Beira photovoltaic plant project after identifying significant negative impacts on ecological systems and on land use.
APA confirmed today to the Lusa agency that, within the scope of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure, “in the configuration presented, the Beira photovoltaic plant project did not meet the conditions to be viable, and therefore the APA consulted the proponent regarding the interest in having the project modified” under the EIA regime.
The Beira photovoltaic plant project contemplates the installation of 425,600 photovoltaic modules, with a total capacity of 266 megawatts (MW), on an area of 524.4 hectares in the municipalities of Castelo Branco (Monforte da Beira, Malpica do Tejo, Benquerenças, União das Freguesias de Escalos de Baixo e Mata and Castelo Branco) and in Idanha-a-Nova (Ladoeiro and União das Freguesias de Idanha-a-Nova and Alcafozes).
Within the scope of the EIA procedure, and based on the analysis developed by the Evaluation Committee (coordinated by the APA and which includes eight other public administration and academic entities), “significant negative impacts on ecological systems and on land use regarding the Beira Photovoltaic Plant project were identified.”
According to the APA, the project promoter expressed interest in revising the project and the proposed minimization measures, and therefore now has six months (180 working days) to do so and introduce the changes deemed appropriate to minimize the identified negative impacts and to align the project with the values at stake.
After that, it must submit to the APA the documents related to that revision, which will be the subject of “a new period of public consultation and of a new technical analysis” by the evaluation committee.
“As a result of that assessment, the APA will issue the respective DIA [unfavorable, conditionally favorable or favorable],” the agency explained.
The APA also clarified that the EIA procedure that took place in 2024 related to the project was closed following the declaration of non-compliance of the Environmental Impact Study (EIA) then presented and “because the promoter did not present all the information necessary for assessment.”
SIC advanced the news of the rejection of this project on Monday night, with confirmation given to the channel by the Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho.
The APA also confirmed to the Lusa agency that, regarding the Sophia Photovoltaic Plant project, the respective environmental assessment is still ongoing.
“The APA, in its capacity as the environmental impact assessment authority, will consider the results of the analysis carried out by the Evaluation Committee and, depending on them, will weigh the approach to be adopted.”
The legally foreseen deadline for this EIA procedure ends on February 9.
The Sophia solar photovoltaic plant covers the municipalities of Fundão, Idanha-a-Nova and Penamacor, in the district of Castelo Branco, and represents an investment of around 590 million euros, for an installed capacity of 867 MWp (Megawatt peak).
It is a project with 390 hectares of area occupied by photovoltaic modules, 435 hectares counting all infrastructures, and a total of 1,734 hectares of fenced-off area.
