The Gavião Municipal Library hosted the 7th and final MRP meeting — “Municipality-Region Partnership” — on 25 September, as part of the European scientific project LIFE ENTRACK, coordinated in Portugal by the CENSE research group at NOVA FCT University, in partnership with AREANATejo.

The final session was dedicated to the theme of “Solar power plants in rural areas” and to the co-creation of a “Shared vision for the future of a just energy transition”, with the aim of signing a memorandum of understanding with all the partners involved.

Representatives from several municipalities in the region attended the meeting, including Portalegre, Arronches and Crato, as well as the mayors of Gavião and Ponte de Sor. The latter highlighted the relevance and impact of the results achieved in enabling a more integrated and faster transition in public policies on energy and decarbonisation, in collaboration with citizens.

During the session, the preliminary results were also presented from surveys conducted between 2025 and 2026 among the members of the AD|Comenda – LESTE II Renewable Energy Community (REC), based in the parish of Comenda.

As a unique project throughout the region and one of the first to be licensed nationally, this REC was once again highlighted as a case study for the project, which began in 2023 and is now coming to an end.

In addition to the potential of this flagship pilot project, other social and environmental impacts were also emphasised, alongside the direct economic benefits, arising from the installation and community management of these small-scale shared energy production units (UPACs). These considerations were made in light of two other comparable communities already licensed and operating in Portugal: AVT, in the Telheiras neighbourhood of the Lumiar parish in Lisbon, and the Residents’ Association of Culatra Island, in the Ria Formosa lagoon.

The meeting also highlighted the synergies and forms of compensation that could and should be considered in advance between local communities and the development of large-scale solar photovoltaic parks in the region.

Weekly nº986

7th october 2026