New Delhi
29 October 2010
Come 2011, Portugal will unveil the world's first nationwide electric vehicle
charging network that will enable people to travel without having to worry about charging
them.
In an interview to this newspaper, Portugal's vice minister for energy and innovation
Carlos Zorrinho said consumers of electric vehicles will be given a bouquet of incentives
to switch over to green energy. The motorists will stand to gain by way of tax breaks or
discounts.
That Portugal is bullish on renewables can be had from the fact that in 2009, 55 per cent
of all electricity was produced from renewables such as hydro- and wind power. The
country is second in the world in terms of the share of wind energy in the energy mix.
Portugal wants to pioneer research in off-shore, floating, wind power towers. It is carrying
out pilot projects in wave energy, too. "If any one in the world want to develop wave
energy I invite them to go to Portugal because we have all the conditions," he noted.
During his stay here, Mr Zorrinho explored the possibility of a bilateral memorandum of
understanding on cooperation in renewable energy. Promotion of contacts between
private sectors also was discussed. Portuguese companies could be ready to invest in
India in partnership or directly.
The minister said India and Portugal can synergise their resources and expertise to spur
a "movement for change" in the areas of renewable energy and sustainable economic
development. He mooted bilateral cooperation among their private sectors in harvesting
renewable energy sources such as wind and wave power not only in India but also in
former Portuguese colonies such as Angola in Africa and Brazil in South America.
"The world today is the world of networks, you need to create global networks to develop
technology or economic model and I think this cooperation between India and Portugal
will be combined with cooperation of India with different countries, and that of Portugal
with Angola and Brazil, and you can create really a movement for change to reinvent the
world," Mr Zorrinho noted.
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