The Solar Demonstration Platform located in Alcoutim , Southern Portugal is a project providing Plug and Produce solution on a 42 ha marginal land plot in a low-density region. It is located in one of the best solar radiation regions in Europe .
The platform provides services for renewable energy producers and technology companies, such as project development, infrastructure, operating services and technology marketing.
The founders of the project together with a large team of professionals envisioned, designed and implemented this innovative infrastructure platform for renewable energy production allows a reduced infrastructure footprint, optimizes shared operations and maintenance, and created critical mass for spin off research and innovation projects .
The result is a dynamic scientific-technological ecosystem, in which various companies are able to test, validate, research, deploy and market their technologies.
4MW CPV systems are currently installed on the platform. 1045 tCO2eq yearly. Solar energy generation is among the least-invasive energy technologies with very low environmental impact. In addition, solar panels provide shading, which allows for the regeneration of poor quality soil.
The Platform is Adding various indigenous species Such As Opuntia Ficus Indica to the perimeter of the platform for fire prevention and optimal land use.
Traditional integration of utility scale in the grid follows a pattern of isolated, independent projects. The Solar Demonstration Platform model from the legacy renewable energy generation models to the innovative accommodation of energy production technologies (infrastructure and service facilities shared by many producers). For the grid operator, the platform provides optimized grid management.
Barriers to Accelerating Clean Energy Deployment O & M activities. These barriers add to the slowdown of renewable energy proliferation across the globe. The Alcoutim Solar Demonstration Platform Plug and Produce Model Significantly Reduces project development, capex and opex costs and thereby supports the acceleration of clean energy deployment and decarbonisation as well as renewable technology deployment and industry growth. The team has originated a network of collaborations with scientific, industrial, governmental and local entities, capitalizing on the excellent local solar resource by creating value-add activities in the region.
The Alcoutim Solar Demonstration Platform has a high potential for the renewable energy industry, impacting the directions and paradigms the industry takes, by pioneering and validating a model that significantly improves the efficient deployment of decentralised energy technologies. In the medium-term, where cost of technology and technical limitations are being reduced, the platform model has flexibility to evolve to provide valuable services to the distribution system operators, R & I activities and expansions alternative energy technologies, such as energy storage, wind and smart grids.
The Solar Demonstration Platform was in 2015, one of the three finalists of the Utility Industry Awards, in the Sustainable Development category , which is one of the most important conferences of the European electricity sector.
