Portuguese energy company EDP plans to close Sines coal-fired power plant two years ahead of schedule

According to foreign media reports, the Portuguese energy company EDP announced that it will close its Sines coal-fired power plant (Sines) in 2021 two years ahead of schedule. This decision has received strong support from climate activists.

　　 EDP stated on July 13 that this decision is part of the EDP Group’s decarbonization strategy, and it is also made in the context of increasing reliance on renewable resources for energy production.

　　 The reduction in the cost of renewable energy power generation, coupled with the increase in the EU's carbon dioxide pollution permit costs, means that the competitiveness of coal-fired power plants has dropped significantly.

Miguel Stilwell dandrade, Executive President of EDP, said: "Last year, as the cost of carbon dioxide emissions continued to rise and natural gas prices became more competitive, the profit forecast for coal-fired power plants was inevitably There has been a decline. Therefore, the decision to close the Sines coal-fired power plant ahead of schedule is a natural result of the energy transition process and is in line with Europe’s carbon neutrality goals and political will.”

Kathrin Gutmann, director of the Europe Beyond Coal Campaign, said: “Portugal’s previous coal phase-out date has been advanced from 2030 to 2023. This date has now been advanced to 2021 again. The speed at which a country has cleaned up its energy system after committing to take clean energy and climate protection actions."

　　 Portugal will be the third EU country to close coal-fired power plants ahead of schedule after Austria and Sweden. In 2016, Belgium became the first EU country to stop using coal power.

According to data from the Beyond Coal Movement, seven more countries are expected to be out of coal power by 2025: France (2022), Slovakia (2023), Portugal (2023), United Kingdom (2024), Ireland (2025) and Italy (2025) .