Greener and more secure electricity in Madeira thanks to EU funds

€45 million from the Cohesion Fund is invested to upscale the production of electricity from water and wind on the island of Madeira, an autonomous region of Portugal and one of the EU's nine Outermost regions. The project further improves the stability of electricity supply on the island off the northwest coast of Africa. Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Crețu, said:

I am proud to see what a difference Cohesion Policy investments can make to citizens in Europe's outermost regions. The new, highly innovative and sustainable power station will help Madeira reduce its greenhouse gas emissions as well as its dependence on fossil fuels – this is good news for the environment and the local economy at the same time.

The upgrade of an existing hydro power plant will triple production capacity to more than 38 megawatt. In addition, a new 17.7 megawatt pump storage facility together with a 1 million cubic metre water storage dam will make it possible to store created wind energy when there is an excess in supply, so additional electricity can be provided during periods of high demand.The new installations will benefit 130 000 consumers, half of Madeira's inhabitants. When presenting its proposals for the future Cohesion Policy on 29 May, the Commission had also proposed to further increase the contribution of Cohesion Policy investments to climate action in the next budgetary period.