Such an exchange would allow countries such as Portugal, to be able to export solar energy.
“We are in a global change and therefore it is absolutely essential to create conditions to have a sufficiently fluid and operational market for renewables,” she said.
As well as allowing the commercial exchange of this type of energy - which countries like Portugal produce in surplus, in cases like solar energy - Elisa Ferreira noted that this internal market would contribute to “a less onerous energy production for the planet”, since it is made from renewable sources.
Nevertheless, Elisa Ferreira noted that such a market “does not prevent the need to explore, in terms of science, technology and innovation, other ways of producing energy”.
Elisa Ferreira was reacting to statements made by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen last December, when von der Leyen noted that Portugal “already has a surplus of renewable energy”, so in her view “the question for Portugal is how to transport its renewable energy through Spain and France to the other countries where this energy is needed”, as part of projects for electrical interconnections that have been in the drawer for several years.
In July 2018, an agreement was signed in Lisbon between political leaders from Portugal, Spain and France to move forward with an electrical interconnection linking the three countries.
This was not the first time that the three countries had expressed interest in moving forward with this type of interconnection, but the project has never progressed, although it remains a priority according to the Portuguese government.
Energy interconnections are high-voltage lines or gas pipelines that allow electricity or gas to be transmitted between networks of two countries, creating conditions for the commercial exchange of energy.