Key Benefits:
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Draft Resolution No. 199 /X
(Promotion of the energy use of agricultural biomass)
The Decree-law No. 189/88 of May 27 adopted the standards on the activity of
production of electric energy by natural persons or legal persons of law
public or private.
Subsequently, the Decree-law No. 168/99 of May 18 came to review the normative applicable to the
production of electric energy from renewable resources, constant from Decree-Law n.
189/88, having, especially:
a) completely changed the tariff applicable to the sale of electric power produced to
from renewable resources and established the principles necessary for internalization of the
environmental benefits provided by these facilities, enabling the implementation of
tariffs customarily designated by green tariffs;
b) Reorganized the regulatory process, through the concentration in it of the
general provisions, the establishment of principles and the definition of rights and duties;
c) Changed the mechanisms leading to the definition of the interconnection points of the
production facilities, so as to ensure greater transparency of procedures
and to ensure a more complete treatment equity of the various promoters, to the same
time that has limited the situations in which, if there are in portfolio projects that they make
unavailable certain points of interconnection, do not exist without conditions to realize, from
immediate, the construction of the respective facilities.
The Decree-law No. 339-C/2001 of December 29 would later also introduce it to
amendments in Decree-Law No. 189/88, with the aim of establishing a remuneration
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differentiated by technology and operating regime, with a highlight of the energies
renewables, and by assigning, at the same time, appropriate emphasis on technologies that, although
emerging, as was the case with the energy of the waves and solar photovoltaic energy,
evidenced a high potential in the medium term, aiming to provide them with conditions
indispensable for the delivery of exemplary projects.
The Decree-law No. 339-C/2001 recognized, also, in parallel, the permanent character of the
environmental contribution of the facilities covered by the legislation in question and disposed of, by
that reason, any temporal limitation. To conclude, this diploma stipulated, in a way
innovatio, the payment of an income due by the holding companies of wind power plants
to municipalities where they were to be deployed.
The Decree-law No. 33-A/2005 of February 16, came to adjust the measures of promoting the
increase in electricity generation through renewable sources to the energy bill
supported by consumers.
Having on the basis of a change in the assumptions that had been on the basis of the drafting of the
Decree-Law No 339-C/2001 of December 29, in particular with regard to the
price of CO (index 2) and the price of electricity in market regime, this diploma
has appropriate the remunerative framework of renewable energy sources through a
updating of the values set out in the respective formula, while ensuring that
remuneration for a time deemed sufficient to allow the recovery of the
investments made and the coverage of the expectation of minimum economic return of the
promoters.
In this new regime were contemplated wind power plants, water with power up to 10 MW,
of solar photovoltaic energy up to 150 MW, with residual forest biomass fuel and
of animal biomass, energy enhancement of biogas and energy enhancement of the
municipal solid waste. The diploma left, however, out of other technologies such as the
that they are laying down their production from other types of biomass, such as those from the
agriculture.
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Agricultural biomes can make a strong contribution to the reduction of the
dependence on residual forest biomass and subdivide it, in attention to its
specificity, in three distinct types:
Dedicated Agricultural Production Biomass;
Biomass of Agricultural Waste;
Biomass of Waste from Agricultural Industries.
Previously defined agricultural biomes, will be able to make a strong contribution
for the reduction of dependence on residual forest biomass.
They are characterised by then, then more in detail these three types of biomass.
A) Biomass of Agricultural Production Dedicated
Agriculture can make a strong contribution to the production of electric energy
in thermoelectric power plants, by the promotion and dynamisation of agricultural productions
dedicated, particularly to the level of energy crops, which they can be
used as biomass.
These energy crops by their high calorific power, can replace, or
work in addition to the use of residual forest biomass, in the plants
thermoelectric.
Energy crops with greater potential and yield of production are the cardo
and the cane.
b) Biomass of Agricultural Waste
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The residues of the agricultural activity, such as those resulting from the activity of
production, collection and processing of raw materials within the agricultural sector,
can be used as biomass.
Agricultural waste susceptible to use as a biomass is:
1. Herbaceous waste such as the straw of cereals and waste that leaves on the land
after its collection, such as:
1.1. Residues from the cultivation of cereals, such as are the wheat straw, barley, oats,
rye, rice and sorghum;
1.2. Waste from vegetable productions;
1.3. Waste from the production of dried fruit;
1.4. Waste from rice production;
1.5. Waste from cultivation to the agro-industrial sector, as they are
waste from the cultivation of cotton, sunflower and rapesy;
1.6. Cultured waste dedicated to the production of vegetables for food
human and animal;
2. Waste from the pods, as they are olive pods, vines, citrus fruit
and fruit trees.
c) Biomass of Waste from Agricultural Industries
The waste from the agricultural industries resulting from the processing activities of
raw materials within the agricultural sector have strong potential for use as
biomass for the production of energy.
The waste susceptible to use as a biomass is:
Residues from the production of olive oil, as are the olive bagasse;
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Residues from olive production, such as are the lump of the olive and
washing waste;
Residues from the extraction of vegetable oils, with are sunflower oil and
of rapesy;
Waste from the wine production industries;
Residues of the fruit production industries in preserves;
Waste from the beer production industries;
Residues from the fruit juice production industries.
Ora, without the prediction of minimally attractive remunerative values is not possible
to view and support investments for the energy use of these products and
substances which, however, may take a significant relevance to the balance sheet
national energy.
It is therefore necessary to change the remunerative criteria set out in the Decree-Law No. 33-
A/2005, by assigning to the energy produced from the agricultural biomes a
coefficient "Z", compatible with the costs associated with agricultural production, which should
be equivalent to the one currently allocated to the residual forest biomass-i.e. 8.2.
In addition to the more, the adoption of this measure will constitute a factor that is a dynamic factor of the
national agriculture, by the indirect financing that comes to propitiate the farmers,
solving, on the other hand, environmental problems resulting from the leakage of the waste
coming from the agricultural industries.
In these terms,
The Assembly of the Republic recommends to the Government the adoption of measures with a view to
promotion of the energy use of biomass from agriculture,
in particular by means of an amendment to Decree-Law No 33-A/2005 of February 16,
passing on the remuneration of the energy thus produced a coefficient "Z",
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compatible with the costs associated with agricultural production, which should be equivalent to the
currently assigned to the "residual forest biomass" (8, to 2).
Palace of Saint Benedict, March 22, 2007.
The Deputies of the Parliamentary Group of the Social Democratic Party,