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MONCHIQUE TO LAUNCH ‘MOBILE ANIMAL RESCUE’

Monchique is to launch a mobile animal rescue unit for emergencies like fires, or any other ‘catastrophes’ that hit the hillside borough. Integrated within the municipality’s ‘Animal Seguro’ (Safe Animal) programme, the idea developed after the last devastating fire in 2018 which threatened the lives of many animals. “You think in a fire that you can let animals loose and they will save themselves”, mayor Rui André explained. “But it’s not like that”. A lot of animals died in the 2018 fire, and many needed veterinary assistance. Thus the unit will work in these situations, ideally to gather animals up in areas that look like they could be in the path of

flames. The plan was one of a number presented during a visit to the borough by environment and climate action minister João Pedro Matos Fernandes this week.

Mr Matos Fernandes heard how the municipality is also planning vaccination and sterilisation campaigns for cats and dogs and raising awareness among locals that dogs should not live their lives on the end of a chain. source: portugalresident.com

PORTUGAL BEATS ‘WORLD RECORD’ FOR CHEAP SOLAR POWER

“The auction was a success, even greater than the auction that took place about a year ago [...]. We beat a new world record, which was achieved with absolutely clear negotiations”, announced the Minister of Environment and Climate Action, João Pedro Matos Fernandes, at a press conference in Lisbon.

According to the ministry, the South Korean company Hanwha Q-Cells was the “big winner” of this second solar auction, which took place on August 24th and 25th.

Matos Fernandes said that with this auction, gains for consumers in the order of 559 million euros are achieved over 15 years. This value corresponds to a unit gain of about 833 thousand euros for each MW awarded (over 15 years), which represents an increase of about 80% compared to the unit gain obtained in the 2019 auction (about 464 thousand euros for each MW awarded), clarifies the ministry.

Matos Fernandes revealed that the 12 lots auctioned correspond, in fact, to 13 awards “because, for one of them, the orders corresponded, approximately, to half of their own availability”, he explained. Each competing company could award a maximum of half the total auction capacity.

As for the remaining lots auctioned, the Spanish companies Iberdola and Endesa left with one each, the French Tag Energie took two lots, the German Enerland took one lot, and the Spanish Audax left with two. in the group companies that came away successful from the solar power auction, the Minister of the Environment stressed that Iberdrola and Endesa are “two great ‘players’ in Portugal”, but, since it is an auction of network points and not tariffs, “a ‘player’ who is already in Portugal gives less value to being able to access the network than a ‘player’ who is not in Portugal”.

In the fixed price modality, in which the lowest value in the world was reached - 11.14 euros per MWh (in the 2019 auction it was 14.76 euros per MWh, considered the lowest tariff in the world at the time) – only one lot was sold off at this auction.

Of the other lots, eight were awarded in the storage modality, the great novelty of this auction, and four in the modality of compensation to the system, explained the minister.

In the storage modality, the Government initially defined a capacity premium of 33.5 thousand euros per MW / year, but the winners were available to pay, themselves, a capacity premium to the system of approximately 37.1 thousand euros per MW / year.

Furthermore, the winners in this modality will have to “insure the system against high price events in the market”.

“We are here objectively to create the conditions to reach, by 2030, 80% of our electricity being from renewable sources, and we are achieving this with enormous economic gain”, concluded the Minister of the Environment. source: algarvedailynews.com

PRESIDENT MARCELO HELPS RESCUE TWO WOMEN ON ALGARVE BEACH CAUGHT AT SEA

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has helped rescue two women who came into difficulty at an Algarve beach when their canoe capsized.

The president, 71, was pictured swimming over to the kayakers who were struggling in the water. He later told reporters that the women had been swept by currents from a neighbouring beach into the bay.

President Rebelo de Sousa is currently on holiday in the Algarve in a bid to promote tourism there.

The president had just spoken to journalists at Praia do Alvor beach when he noticed the women struggling. Video footage caught the moment he swam into the sea to assist them.

CHARITY GOLF

EVENT FOR

BOMBEIROS

Acharity golf event will be taking place on Saturday, 5 September to raise funds for the Associação Obrigado Bombeiros. The 18 hole, Stableford tournament will be held at the Silves Golf Pestana Golf Resort from 8am Source: theportugalnews.com Another man was already there, trying to help turn the canoe over while a person on a jet ski also approached to offer help.

The man on the jet ski then managed to tow the kayak back to the shore. After assisting the women, President Rebelo de Sousa told journalists that the women had come from another beach. “As there is a very large west current, they were dragged out, turned around, swallowed a lot of water and were not even able to turn [the kayak], nor to climb [on it], or swim, such is the strength of the current,” he told local press.

The president said he was helped by another “patriot” on the jet ski. He warned that the women should be careful in future.

Source: algarvedailynews.com

ANOTHER SHARK SIGHTING

Red flags were raised along Cacela Velha beach on 26 August after a beachgoer said they spotted a shark in the water. The incident happened around 7.30pm. The captaincy of the port of Tavira and Vila Real de Santo António confirmed the report but said they did not spot any animal similar to the one described by the beachgoer. A shark was also sighted off Barril beach in the Eastern Algarve on 2 August. Source: theportugalnews.com