The Regional Director for Energy stressed the importance of reinforcing the cooperation, positioning and importance of the Azores and the Outermost Regions for the energy transition in the European Union, noting that this is a "particularly dynamic and technologically advanced sector."
 
Andreia Carreiro spoke on the sidelines of the 13th EU Sustainable Energy Week, an event that brought together policy makers, public authorities, industry representatives, non-governmental organisations, researchers and scholars, among other stakeholders. The initiative consolidates the European Commitment towards a cleaner, smarter and decarbonised energy that will boost Europe's economic space. The primary goal is to meet the targets set out in the Paris Agreement, being in line with the "Clean Energy for EU Islands" initiative launched in May 2017.
 
"The European Union intends to channel investments in the area, fostering economic growth and increasing the opportunities for qualified employment," said Andreia Carreiro. In this context, she added that the “integration of the Azores into this initiative is extremely important, allowing convergence to solutions, innovations and emerging guidelines in the field of energy. Besides, it fosters the creation of partnerships that strengthen the strategic position of the Azores in the context of island spaces."
 
During her visit to Brussels, the Regional Director met with the Directorate-General for Energy of the European Commission, where she presented the energy situation, ambitions and challenges of the nine isolated energy micro-systems in the Azores. In fact, they are a privileged living laboratory for the implementation of projects that value the natural and endogenous potential of the archipelago and that stand out by the use of emerging and innovative technologies. Moreover, these projects will focus on the exploration of the geothermal potential, which already accounts for 66% of energy produced from renewable and endogenous sources.
 
"Outermost Regions can be exemplary regions in the energy transition, given their specific characteristics and potentialities, but they lack specific aid and conditions in accessing Community incentive systems," stressed the Regional Director.
 
"For this reason, we wanted to highlight our ambitions and challenges in this area, namely in terms of supply safety, energy efficiency, electric mobility and the representativeness of renewable energy sources in the Azorean power system, pointing out the integrated strategy we want to pursue," added the government official.
 
"Our wealth takes shape through the diversity of the natural and endogenous resources we have, which we intend to value, and make the most of the efficiency for the electricity system and for consumers," said Andreia Carreiro.
 
In this context, she pointed out that the “savings on the import of fossil fuels have been increased, thereby protecting the regional economy from external factors such as oil prices. It also provides a significant contribution to the Region's energy self-sufficiency in the path of the carbonised development of the archipelago."
 
Andreia Carreiro also stated that the "Azores are synonymous with nature in its pure state, being recognised beyond borders by their sustainable practices. The energy sector is an essential way to improve this goal based on innovative and emerging practices that take the shape of actions converging towards the goals of the European Union in this matter."