Tabuaço Rallies Residents Against 30,744 Floating Solar Panels on the Távora's Vilar Reservoir, With Public Comments Open Until 24 November

Tabuaço council has renewed its opposition to a plan to float 30,744 solar panels on the Vilar reservoir on the river Távora, in the Douro area of Viseu district, and is asking residents to say so in the public consultation, which runs until 24 November. Mayor José João Patrício (PS) told Lusa on Tuesday, as reported by Observador, that he was restating the previous council's position.

What is planned

The project is the Vilar-Tabuaço floating solar and wind hybrid, promoted by Finerge and under environmental impact assessment by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), with the energy directorate DGEG as licensing body. According to the project's non-technical summary (in Portuguese), the concession came from a competitive procedure for floating solar plants on public reservoirs, which allowed up to 20 hectares of water surface and a 17 MVA grid connection at the E-Redes substation in Vila da Rua.

• Solar: about 21 MWp on the reservoir, either 30,744 panels in two floating islands (about 12.5 hectares) or 30,800 panels in four islands (about 12.7 hectares), covering under 2 percent of the reservoir at full capacity. Estimated output is 28.68 GWh a year.
• Wind: four onshore turbines of 4.25 MW each (17 MW), producing an estimated 53.3 GWh a year. The nearest turbine sits about 665 metres from the protection zone of the Alto Douro Wine Region World Heritage site.
• Grid works: a new substation and a 2.8 kilometre overhead line to Vila da Rua.
• Where: Moimenta da Beira, Sernancelhe, São João da Pesqueira and Penedono. Construction would take 14 months.

Why the councils object

Patrício said a 2024 version proposed four islands and the new one has two, "but the number of panels is the same, 30,744". He gave three objections: water quality "will be affected, according to the technical study", and Tabuaço draws part of its supply from the reservoir; the landscape, with knock-on harm to tourism; and the fact that firefighting aircraft scoop water there, which he said would no longer be possible. Sernancelhe and Moimenta da Beira are also opposed, and the 19-council Douro intermunicipal community (CIM Douro) unanimously expressed its disagreement, according to Lusa.

The promoter's summary disagrees. It says the layout keeps clear corridors between the islands and the banks for boats and for firefighting aircraft to scoop water, and that, given the small share of the reservoir covered and the absence of discharges, no relevant change to the water body's classification is expected. It accepts the platforms could locally affect surface water temperature.

How to comment, and by when

The consultation is open on APA's Participa portal from 14 October to 24 November 2026; by Wednesday it had 700 contributions. Lusa noted that the notice in the Diário da República gives 23 November as the end date, so to be safe, comment by then.

• Read the documents first: the environmental study and its summary are under "Ver documentos" on the consultation page and on APA's SIAIA record (process 3909).
• Register or log in on Participa, then choose a category: agreement, disagreement, general, competing proposal, complaint or suggestion.
• Write your comment and, if you wish, attach one file of up to 50 MB. A tick box decides whether your comment may be published in the closing report.

APA weighs the comments before issuing its environmental decision. It recently turned down a solar plant beside a Serra do Marão wind farm, and assessors also rejected a 45-turbine wind farm between Viseu and Guarda. The government is meanwhile auctioning new grid access for solar and batteries with a share of the proceeds for host councils.