Portugal enters the decisive stretch to put 1050 MVA of access to the electricity grid into play for projects with storage , through two auctions that will separate the opportunities for independent battery systems from those linked to new renewable generation.
The schedule set by the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology (DGEG) indicates August 24 for the publication of the final tender documents and September 14 for the submission of applications , following a public consultation that began on June 29 and ended on July 20. The conditions, still identified as drafts, may therefore undergo modifications in the final version.
Most of the capacity will be for stand-alone BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) projects, with 750 MVA available , while another 300 MVA will be reserved for new renewable energy projects that must be hybridized with batteries . In total, the procedures cover 1050 MVA and open a window of access in a market where grid connection capacity has become a strategic asset.
The unique aspect is that Portugal is not offering successful bidders a regulated tariff, a contract for difference (CfD), a capacity payment, or a revenue floor . The product being contested is a Capacity Reservation Title (TRC), that is, a firm right of access to the grid, which must be paid for with a single payment expressed in euros per MVA.
In this way, future projects will have to construct their economic equation based on arbitrage in the electricity market, bilateral agreements and PPAs, and system services , transferring a significant portion of the profitability risk to the developer. This design makes the economic valuation of the connection point a central aspect of the competition.
Currently, Portugal has more than 3.6 GW of reversible hydroelectric capacity, an infrastructure that the Executive intends to expand to strengthen long-term storage and system flexibility.
Two different auctions and configurations
For the 750 MVA of stand-alone BESS , the draft considers systems without an associated renewable energy park and distributes the opportunities among nine groups of 400 kV nodes . Each applicant may request between 50 and 200 MVA , with only one application per procedure.
The technical configuration also establishes a demanding threshold. According to the conditions submitted for consultation, the BESS power must be equivalent to 100% of the TRC both under load and in injection, with a minimum duration of four hours at full power .
This means that a successful bidder who obtains, for example, 100 MVA of access must size the storage according to that power requirement and a minimum of four hours , although the optimal economic size may be higher than the regulatory minimum.
The second option involves 300 MVA for hybridizing new renewable generation with BESS (Basic Energy Storage System) . Projects at three 400 kV nodes will be eligible to compete, with each participant requesting between 50 and 100 MVA . The integration of energy storage will be mandatory.
In this case, the proposed requirement for the batteries is different: the minimum power of the BESS must represent 20% of the TRC under load and injection conditions and, again, have a minimum duration of four hours at full power . This is a minimum technical requirement and not necessarily the sizing that maximizes the profitability of each development.
The map also changes between modalities. For hybridization, there are 800 MVA of identified capacity to allocate 300 MVA : Abrantes (Pego) has 300 MVA, Rio Maior another 300 MVA, and Sines + Santo André 200 MVA.
Furthermore, the draft establishes significant differences in grid loading capacity. Abrantes and Rio Maior would allow the BESS to be loaded from the grid at up to 75% of the TRC, while Sines + Santo André would be limited to 25% . This variable could directly impact the operating strategy and, consequently, the economic valuation of the access.
For stand-alone projects, however, 1,800 MVA of available capacity has been identified, but only 750 MVA will be allocated . Panóias accounts for 400 MVA; Alcochete-Palmela, Pegões-Divor, Alqueva, Ferreira do Alentejo, Vale Pereiro, and Tavira each have 200 MVA; while Rio Maior has 100 MVA and the Abrantes-Estremoz-Falagueira group adds another 100 MVA.
Thus, between the two procedures , Portugal identifies around 2,600 MVA of available space, but will only award 1,050 MVA , a ratio that anticipates competition not only for how much access to obtain, but also for its location and economic value.
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The price of access comes to the heart of the business
Another differentiating factor is the economic mechanism. The auctions are structured under a single-price or pay-as-clear scheme , meaning that successful bidders will ultimately pay the final price and not necessarily the individual value included in their bids. Competition would initially be based on quantity and subsequently on location.
This forces stakeholders to determine how much additional value access generates before setting their bid ceiling. The shared technical document presents the equation as the difference between the net present value (NPV) of the project with access and the NPV of the same development without that right , the result of which would determine the maximum in euros per MVA that would make economic sense to bid.
The decision will not depend solely on the batteries' CAPEX. Variables such as optimal system lifespan, actual available active power, charging and injection restrictions, and potential grid limitations will modify the assessment of each node.
The draft stipulates that the grid may limit load or injection to up to 750 equivalent hours per year . Furthermore, while the reserve is allocated in MVA, the project's economic model operates in MW: with a power factor of 0.95, for example, 100 MVA would be approximately equivalent to 95 MW of active capacity .
In addition to the operational variables, there is a guarantee system that raises the barriers to entry. Participation requires a fixed provisional guarantee of €500,000 , which will later be replaced by a final guarantee equivalent to €10,000 per MVA awarded , to be established within the corresponding ten business days.
Therefore, an award of 100 MVA would require a final guarantee of one million euros . Before the TRC is issued, the award value and the OMIP market operator fees must also be paid.
Obligations continue even after access is granted. According to the draft, failure to meet the established deadline for obtaining the production license would result in the expiration of the reservation without a refund of the price paid by the TRC . In addition, an annual municipal compensation equivalent to 2.5% of gross revenue is payable from the start of operations.
The timeframes established from the issuance of the TRC (Technical Regulation Certificate) are 24 months for the production license and 48 months for the operating license when an environmental assessment is required , reduced to 18 and 42 months respectively when such an assessment is not necessary. After obtaining the operating license, the asset must begin operating within 30 business days.
Portugal accelerates storage in the face of grid constraints
The move comes as Portugal's renewable energy expansion begins to shift the value from simply adding generation to flexibility and leveraging existing connections .
According to Mordor Intelligence , grid-driven solar expansion, increased curtailment during peak photovoltaic production hours, and the growth of corporate PPAs are creating opportunities around storage, hybridization, and the acceleration of new projects.
The consultancy specifically identifies the congestion of the north-south transmission corridor and the growing risk of curtailment caused by midday solar peaks as constraints in the Portuguese renewable energy market. At the same time, it notes that the rules for co-locating battery storage are encouraging greater utilization of renewable assets.
The phenomenon is already beginning to translate into concrete projects. Mordor Intelligence highlights that Akuo began construction in March 2026 of the 80 MW/220 MWh BESS SantasBAT , next to the 181 MW Santas solar plant in Borba, with a configuration designed to manage peak photovoltaic production and preserve the value of the grid connection.
Also noteworthy is the Pracana hybrid project, put into operation by EDP in January 2026, which combines hydroelectric and solar terrestrial generation to reach a total capacity of 89 MW , as another example of the use of existing infrastructure and access.
Portugal had already used auctions as a mechanism to allocate an increasingly scarce resource: access to the grid . The model is now gaining prominence again with batteries and hybridization, instead of relying exclusively on mechanisms designed to secure long-term revenue.
The September competition, therefore, will not be limited to determining who is willing to install batteries . It will test which developers can best value each node, meet the required guarantees and deadlines, structure revenue without regulated remuneration, and size the storage capacity to capture sufficient market value.
With 750 MVA of stand-alone capacity and 300 MVA of hybrid capacity available, compared to 2,600 MVA of identified capacity gap , Portugal is preparing an auction where having BESS technology will only be the starting point. The real asset at stake will be firm access to the grid and how much each investor is willing to pay to control it.