City Café explores the future of renewable energies, with João Peças Lopes
On 20 June, the City Café welcomed João Peças Lopes, Full Professor at FEUP and head of the scientific area of sustainable energy systems, for a highly informative session entitled “Renewable Energy Technologies”. This presentation brought up crucial questions about Portugal’s energy future and the global targets related to reducing pollution.
João Peças Lopes began the session with an overview of the national targets for renewable energy production, highlighting the forecast that Portugal will double its installed power between 2015 and 2030, mainly through an increase in solar, wind and hydroelectric production. This expansion is key to achieving carbon neutrality targets and reducing dependence on fossil energy sources.
During the session, the importance of diversifying renewable energy sources was also highlighted, emphasising that excessive dependence on a single source can be harmful, as exemplified by the recent blackout in Ecuador.
Various sources of renewable energy were discussed:
- Solar: photovoltaics, with silicon as the main material, and the planned expansion of solar panels on buildings.
- Hydroelectric: the operation of hydroelectric power stations and their dependence on the availability of water.
- Wind: the evolution of wind turbines and the potential of offshore turbines off the Portuguese coast.
- Waves: technological challenges and experiments off the coast of Portugal.
- Geothermal: potential and limitations, with examples in the Azores and Iceland.
- Biomass: installed capacity in Portugal and applications in cork.
During the session, the speaker also addressed the challenges associated with integrating renewable energies into the electricity grid, such as temporal variability and the need for efficient storage systems. Demand management and the use of electronic converters instead of synchronous generators are essential to mitigate these challenges.
The future of renewable energies lies in the increasing electrification of the economy and investment in new technologies. Hydrogen production, for example, is seen as a promising solution for the production of fertilisers, ammonia and biofuels. Currently, around 100 million tonnes of hydrogen are produced each year in the world, and Sines is positioned to become one of Portugal’s largest energy consumption centres.
The session concluded by emphasising the importance of a diversified and integrated approach to achieving carbon neutrality. Technological innovation, combined with effective resource management and the active participation of individuals and communities, is key to meeting the energy challenges of the future.
The City Café is conceived and managed in the context of the Porto Innovation Hub municipal initiative, which is developed by Porto Digital, in direct coordination with the Municipal Directorate for People and Organisation Management.