Regional Directorate for Energy integrates Portuguese delegation to visit the United States of America
The Regional Director for Energy will integrate a Portuguese delegation that will visit the United States of America between March 23 and 26, an initiative that was organised by the Embassy of the United States of America in Lisbon and the American Consulate in Ponta Delgada. The delegation also includes representatives of EDA - Electricity of the Azores, EDP, the Luso-American Foundation for Development, the MIT-Portugal, the National Laboratory of Engineering and Geology and of the Competitiveness Centre for Energy Technology, amongst other entities.
Renewable energies, smart electrical grids and electrical mobility are the main themes of the visits to be held in Colorado and Michigan. In the city of Denver, the delegation will visit the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory and the Colorado Cleantech Industry Association whilst in the city of Boulder they will establish contacts with the entities linked to the development of smart grids. Moreover, in city of Detroit, Michigan, the delegation will visit General Motors, Ford and the Centre for Automotive Research, with emphasis on electrical mobility.
For the Regional Director of Energy, “this visit is very important at the present moment when renewable energy, smart grids and electrical mobility, are on the agenda of many countries and regions, including the Azores. It is important to understand the progress of technology development as well as enhance the establishment of partnerships for the development and implementation of technology.
Furthermore, the Regional Director also stated that “visiting research and construction projects of electric vehicles and their interconnection with the electrical grid may, in addition to the potential cooperation, contribute to the ongoing project to implement electrical mobility in the Azores.”
According to José Cabral Vieira, “the size of the islands, as well as the existence of isolated and closed systems, may attract the interest the interest of external entities to collaborate with the regional authorities in the application and implementation of innovative technology in areas such as renewable energy and electric mobility. Renewable energy and electrical mobility are areas in which the Azores, due to their specificities, may become a region of reference not only at a level of energy use, but also at the level of research.”
The creation of a centre of excellence to promote the research in renewable energy, interconnected with a technical and scientific network system at a national and international level might be, according to Regional Director for Energy, “strategy to boost prominence. If the information and communication technologies influenced the 20th century, leading to the process of globalisation, the 21st century will be marked by the energy revolution. It is a process that must be understood and anticipated.”