Come 2011, Portugal will unveil the world’s first nationwide electric vehicle charging network that will enable people to travel without having to worry about charging them. In an interview to this newspaper, Portugal’s vice-minister for energy and innovation Carlos Zorrinho said consumers of electric vehicles will be given a bouquet of incentives to switch over from fossil fuels to green energy. The motorists will stand to gain by way of tax breaks or discounts.
That Portugal is bullish on renewables can be had from the fact that in 2009, 55 per cent of all electricity was produced from renewables such as hydro and wind power.
The country is second in the world in terms of the share of wind energy in the energy mix. Portugal wants to pioneer research in off-shore, floating, wind power towers. It is carrying out pilot projects in wave energy too.
“If any one in the world want to develop wave energy, I invite them to go to Portugal because we have all the conditions,” he noted.
During his stay here, Mr Zorrinho explore the possibility of an India-Portugal memorandum of understanding on cooperation in renewable energy.
The promotion of contacts between the private sectors of the two countries also was discussed. “Portuguese companies could be ready to invest in India in partnership or directly,” he said.
The minister said India and Portugal can synergise their resources and expertise to spur a “movement for change” in the areas of renewable energy and sustainable economic development.
He mooted bilateral cooperation among their private sectors in harvesting renewable energy sources such as wind and wave power not only in India but also in former Portuguese colonies such as Angola in Africa and Brazil in South America.
“The world today is the world of networks, you need to create global networks to develop technology or economic model and I think this cooperation between India and Portugal will be combined with cooperation of India with different countries, and that of Portugal with Angola and Brazil, and you can create really a movement for change to reinvent the world,” Mr Zorrinho noted.