According to the portal, the public consultation of the environmental impact study, which began on March 7 and ended on Thursday, registered 228 participations.

The plant is expected to have 82,368 solar panels, according to the environmental impact study.

“The Cabril floating photovoltaic plant project will have a connection power of 47.77 MWp [mega watt-peak] generated by 82,368 solar panels, each capable of producing a peak power of 580 Wp and occupying a total panel area of ​​33.97 hectares”, reveals the non-technical summary of the environmental impact study, available on the participa.pt platform.

The megawatt-peak unit corresponds to the maximum power of a set of solar panels under ‘standard’ conditions, that is, solar radiation of 1,000 watts/m2 and 25 degrees of temperature.

The non-technical summary states that expected annual electrical production will reach around 73,799 megawatts per hour, and the energy generated will be injected into the Public Service Electric Grid.

The construction phase lasts 18 months, while the exploration phase lasts between 25 and 30 years. The deactivation phase lasts six months.

“During the construction phase, it is estimated that the number of workers allocated to the project will be a maximum of 120 people.”

During the operation phase, the floating photovoltaic plant “will have a control system that allows it to operate automatically”.

Thus, “in the exploration phase, three people are expected to be permanently allocated to the project”.

The plant, a project by the company Voltalia, which won the floating solar auction for Cabril, is planned for the territory of the municipalities of Pedrógão Grande (district of Leiria), Pampilhosa da Serra (Coimbra) and Sertã (Castelo Branco).

With the two associated overhead power lines (one of 3.44 kilometers and the other of 21.21 kilometers), the project also reaches the municipalities of Castanheira de Pera and Figueiró dos Vinhos (Leiria), and Penela (Coimbra).

A 30 kilovolt (kV, a measure of electrical voltage) line will connect the plant's transformer stations to a substation. The connection to the national electricity grid substation will be made with a 60 kV power line.

The previous government auctioned the exploration of 263 megawatts of solar energy in seven dams in the country, having in April 2022 awarded six of the seven lots, including the Cabril lot, this one to Voltalia.

Then, Voltalia explained, in a press release, that the installed capacity of the plant “will be between 33 MW and 40 MW, depending on the final optimization of the project”.

“With 33 hectares, the plant will supply green energy for a volume equivalent to the consumption of 70.3 thousand inhabitants”, explained the company, remembering that the expectation is that “the project will be commissioned by 2026”.

As for revenues, “they will be supported by a 15-year contract awarded by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Action, providing for a price of 41,025 euros per megawatt-hour”, Voltalia said at the same time.

Calls for cancellation

Last week, the intermunicipal communities (CIM) of the Leiria Region, Coimbra Region and Beira Baixa requested the cancellation of this project.

“The cancellation of the project must be immediately determined, ensuring environmental protection and the safety of local populations, with the appropriate legal consequences for the concessionaire company and the decision-making bodies involved,” said the three regions.

In March, this position had already been taken by the Leiria Region, having since been endorsed by the Coimbra and Beira Baixa Region, with the three CIMs arguing that, “given the environmental, socioeconomic and legal impacts identified, it is imperative” that the Portuguese Environment Agency and other public entities “reconsider the decision”.