The Portuguese government has postponed the deadline for international bids for new wind farm permits to March 1 from January 30, the Lusa news agency reported Tuesday.
Deputy economy minister Antonio Castro Guerra will officially notify the various consortiums planning to submit bids later on Tuesday, the agency added citing a source close to the process.
Prime Minister Jose Socrates’ Socialist government launched a bid for 1,700 megawatts of wind farm capacity in July as part of an effort to boost the nation’s renewable energy capacity and reduce a high dependence on oil imports.
The tender called for bids for three large wind parks — one for 1,000 megawatts of capacity, one for 500 megawatts, and a third for 200 megawatts to be shared between small producers.
The postponement affects the tenders for 1,000 and 500 megawatts of capacity.
Three potential bidders, namely Spain’s Union Fenosa, the renewable energy division of Portuguese utility EDP, Enernova, and Portugal’s Galpenergia, have requested that the deadline be delayed, daily newspaper Diario de Noticias reported Tuesday.
The government expects that the wind farms will attract investment worth 900 million euros (1.1 billion dollars), most of it from the private sector.
Source: Agence France-Presse
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