Lisbon, June 15, 2026 (Lusa) - Wind power accounted for 25.4% of electricity consumption in mainland Portugal in 2025, but the targets set for 2030 require greater ambition and the acceleration of new projects, according to a study published on Monday.
The report ‘Wind Farms in Portugal’, produced by INEGI – the Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering – in partnership with the Portuguese Renewable Energy Association (APREN), released on Monday on World Wind Day, points to wind power generation of 13.5 terawatt-hours (TWh), compared to total electricity consumption of 53.1 TWh in mainland Portugal.
Bearing in mind that the National Energy and Climate Plan 2030 (PNEC 2030) forecasts a generation capacity of 10.4 gigawatts (GW) of onshore wind power and the realisation of 2 GW of offshore wind power by 2030, the study considers these targets to be “very ambitious and demanding”.
In this regard, it argues that achieving these targets depends on “close collaboration between public and private stakeholders”, which will accelerate the development of new projects.
Speaking to Lusa, APREN’s Policy and Market Intelligence Coordinator, Susana Serôdio, stated that “in recent years, there has been a stagnation in wind energy here” and that this source “has not kept pace with what would be expected given the PNEC2030”.
“The first [factor], clearly, is the issue of licensing and the lack of clarity regarding deadlines, difficulties in certain areas of environmental impact assessment, but also clearly issues relating to current market conditions and the grid,” she said.
According to the same study, following a period of growth, 2025 saw a “renewed stagnation in additional installed capacity in Portugal”.
In 2025, 446.8 megawatts (MW) of capacity under construction had been mapped, of which around 80% corresponded to new projects, including the Tâmega Norte wind farm (194.4 MW) and the Tâmega Sul wind farm (79.2 MW).
Most of these new projects, however, involve hybridisation, that is, the combination of a wind project with another existing renewable project, such as hydro or solar, utilising existing grid connections.
Repowering projects, which involve replacing or modernising existing equipment with more efficient alternatives, account for 14% of the capacity under construction, whilst the remaining 6% relates to overcapacity, i.e. the installation of generation capacity exceeding the grid’s feed-in capacity.
With 6 GW of installed capacity, Portugal remains in the European ‘top 10’ for wind power capacity, in a ranking led by Germany, with 77.7 GW, and Spain, with 33.2 GW.
Geographically, Viseu remains the district with the highest installed wind power capacity in the country, with 1,231.1 MW connected to the grid, followed by Coimbra with 745.7 MW, Vila Real with 696.3 MW, and Guarda with 653.2 MW.
Évora remains the only district in mainland Portugal without any wind turbines installed.
The autonomous regions account for a total of 106.4 MW in operation, divided between 63.8 MW in Madeira and 42.6 MW in the Azores.
When asked about future onshore growth, Serôdio argued that “the future lies in retrofitting”, but noted that “there is, in fact, still room for growth onshore”.
She added that hybridisation with solar is gaining importance as prices fall during peak photovoltaic hours.
“At peak solar production times, prices are very low, and project profitability starts to become very slim. If they hybridise with wind power, this creates further potential for the project,” she said.
SCR/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
