Regional Director for Energy stresses importance of maximising inclusion of renewable energy sources in the Azores
The Regional Director for Energy stressed today in Lisbon the importance of "maximising the inclusion of renewable energy sources into the power production system" of the Azores, which currently exceeds 41%.
According to Andreia Carreiro, it is fundamental to participate "in international discussions, with special emphasis on emerging practices in this area, a key element for the implementation of an economically sustainable and decarbonised development of the Azores."
The current weight of renewable and endogenous energy sources in the Azores' power generation system "is developing in a positive way, but we aim to achieve much more," stressed Andreia Carreiro. In this regard, she explained that the Regional Government intends "to eliminate external dependence on fossil fuels by changing the current energy paradigm."
"The energy transition is rendered effective through a decisive and strong commitment to emerging technologies and innovative services that value our natural and endogenous resources, which are presented as one of the greatest assets of the Azores." As the government official added, "it will raise the sustainability standards of the Region, while ensuring the safety of supply to the population as well as a clean, equitable and affordable energy for all Azorean families and companies," said the Regional Director.
Andreia Carreiro spoke on the sidelines of the conference "Portugal Renewable Summit 2018," an international event held by APREN - Renewable Energy Association that has become a privileged space for knowledge sharing, through contributions from various national and international specialists in the field of renewable energy.
"The exchange of experiences and know-how under this international event is fundamental insofar it allows us to analyse international policies and their impacts on the energy markets, namely on the renewable and system services market as well as on consumers."
The event also discussed the opportunities for citizens regarding the evolution of traditional power grids to smart grids, which provide each individual with the possibility to produce, store and consume electricity from renewable sources.
According to Andreia Carreiro, this is an approach "that has been carried out in the Region to define cohesive and relevant guidelines towards the transition to the low-carbon economy, as we have been seeing in the Azores, based on citizens."