Renewable Energy Acceleration Areas — New Regime and Sectoral Programme

On 29 June 2026, Decree-Law no. 130/2026, of 29 June, (“DL 130/2026”) was published, amending Decree-Law no. 15/2022, of 14 January, (“DL 15/2022”) and establishing, among other matters, the legal framework applicable to the Portuguese Renewable Energy Acceleration Areas (Zonas de Aceleração da Implantação de Energia Renovável) (“ZAER”).

Subsequently, on 25 August 2026, Resolution of the Council of Ministers no. 172-A/2026, of 25 August, was published, approving the Sectoral Programme for the ZAER (Programa Setorial das Zonas de Aceleração da Implantação de Energias Renováveis) (“PSZAER”), which is responsible for the designation of ZAER and for setting out the guidelines and conditions applicable to their implementation in mainland Portugal.

These instruments transpose and partially enact the acceleration model set out in Directive (EU) 2023/2413 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 18 October 2023 (“RED III”), seeking to promote the development of renewable energy projects in areas previously identified as suitable, through faster and more predictable administrative procedures and by bringing forward, to the planning stage, the assessment of the main environmental and territorial impacts.

The ZAER are specific areas, on land, at sea or in inland waters, designated as particularly suitable for the installation of renewable energy generation facilities and of the grid or storage infrastructure required to integrate the energy generated into the National Electricity System. Their delimitation shall cover areas with sufficiently homogeneous environmental characteristics, where no significant environmental impacts are expected from the installation of the relevant renewable technologies, or where such impacts can be avoided, mitigated or compensated through pre-established measures.

Locating a project within a ZAER gives access to a simplified prior control regime and to reduced licensing deadlines, as described in the following sections. However, the designation of a ZAER does not amount to authorization of specific projects, does not automatically change land classification or qualification, and does not set aside administrative easements, public interest restrictions or other applicable legal regimes. The ZAER are also not exclusive areas for the development of renewable energy, and projects may continue to be installed in other areas of the territory under the general regime.

The PSZAER is the instrument that gives territorial effect to the ZAER regime, identifying the areas considered suitable and establishing the guidelines and conditions applicable to projects located therein.

At this initial stage, the PSZAER covers solar photovoltaic and onshore wind power generation, including the related grid connection infrastructure and, where applicable, co-located storage.

The Territorial Model of the PSZAER identifies approximately 153,600 hectares for solar photovoltaic generation, distributed across approximately 500 polygons larger than 100 hectares, and approximately 44,600 hectares for onshore wind generation, distributed across approximately 385 polygons larger than 20 hectares. Areas suitable for the ZAER are spread across 153 municipalities in mainland Portugal, with the solar component more widely distributed and the wind component more concentrated in the North and Centre regions. The PSZAER also designates, for solar photovoltaic technology, certain surfaces of pre-existing buildings and artificial structures as ZAER, subject to a stand-alone regime that does not depend on integration into municipal plans.

The application of the regime to the ZAER designated under the Territorial Model depends on their integration into municipal territorial plans, in particular Municipal Master Plans, following an assessment of the relevant boundaries at municipal level and identification of the applicable technology. Municipalities within the scope of the Territorial Model must integrate, as ZAER, an area corresponding to at least 1% of the municipal surface, and have 90 days to initiate the plan amendment or revision procedure and 24 months to complete and publish it.

To benefit from the regime applicable to the ZAER under the Territorial Model, a project must be entirely located within an area integrated into the municipal plan and must comply with the technology identified therein. For solar projects located in the ZAER designated under the Territorial Model, the area occupied by panels may not exceed 200 hectares and must comply with compartmentalization, setback and territorial discontinuity rules. All projects must comply with the environmental, territorial and social standards set out in the PSZAER.

DL 130/2026 adds to DL 15/2022 a stand-alone section dedicated to the ZAER and introduces cross-cutting amendments to the licensing regime applicable to projects located therein, with three main features standing out.

Reduced licensing deadlines

DL 130/2026 introduced reductions to the deadlines applicable to prior control procedures for eligible projects located in ZAER. The maximum timeframes were shortened for the issuance of the production licence, the completion of the overall prior control procedure for onshore and offshore projects, the completion of the specific prior control procedure for overpowering and repowering of onshore power plants, including the EIA, where applicable, and the completion of the prior registration procedure for the repowering of offshore renewable energy projects:

Exemption from EIA and environmental compliance assessment

Eligible projects in a ZAER are, as a rule, exempt from environmental impact assessment (“EIA”), provided they comply with the rules and measures resulting from the strategic environmental assessment of the PSZAER. This exemption does not apply, however, to projects located on artificial water bodies or reservoirs, on listed or protected heritage properties or in the process of being classified (or their respective protection areas), on inventoried archaeological cultural heritage, in areas or structures relevant to national defence or security, or to projects liable to cause significant effects on the environment of another Member State.

Instead of an EIA, the promoter must demonstrate the project’s compliance with those rules and measures and, where applicable, propose additional mitigation measures, under a procedure whose outcome must be notified within 45 days. If unanticipated significant impacts are identified that cannot be mitigated, the project is referred to the EIA procedure. In duly justified circumstances, in particular where there is a need to accelerate the deployment of renewables or to meet national renewable energy targets, the member of Government responsible for the energy sector may exempt solar or wind projects from the environmental compliance assessment itself, while the duty to adopt mitigation or compensation measures remains in place.

Exemption from prior urban planning control

Projects in the ZAER are exempt from prior municipal control under the Legal Framework for Urban Development and Building (Regime Jurídico da Urbanização e Edificação) (“RJUE”), without prejudice to compliance with territorial plans, cultural heritage protection rules and technical construction standards. 

The new ZAER regime seeks to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy projects by bringing forward environmental assessment to the strategic planning stage, reducing licensing deadlines and simplifying the environmental and urban planning controls applicable to eligible projects. However, the effective application of this regime will largely depend on the integration of the ZAER into municipal territorial plans, the availability of grid connection capacity, and promoters demonstrating compliance with the eligibility criteria and the demanding environmental, territorial and social standards set out in the PSZAER.