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Portugal to Have 1,300 Recharging Stations by 2011

The Portuguese government has decided to encourage zero-emission vehicles sales for the near future. The government's plan to introduce up to 1,300 recharging stations for electric vehicles over the next two years was made public on Monday by the Economy and Innovation Ministry, the Associated Press reported.

Portugal has been in the position of importing most of its energy for a long time, due to their lack of natural resources like coal and oil. But that is about to change, as the center-left Socialist party in power turns its attention to developing renewable and clean energy solutions. In recent years, Portugal has shown an increasing interest in investing in alternative energy solutions and the government now claims that almost 43% of the country's electricity needs can now be secured by renewable energy sources already in place and running.

The first stage of the plan is to install recharging sites in 21 of the most congested cities and rural districts. The sites will be installed at gas stations, shopping malls and wired parking spots, among other places.

The Portuguese government announced tax breaks to encourage people to switch to electric vehicle while local authorities said they'll provide “special parking areas” in towns. Also worth mentioning are the services provided by the sites, either a slow recharge which takes about 8 hours or a fast one in under 30 minutes. Prices, however, are not available for the moment.

The project will be built by a consortium of five companies and, by 2020, the target is 25,000 charging sites all over Portugal. The Ministry of Economy and Innovation seems optimistic as it estimates a number of 180,000 battery-powered cars in traffic by the same year.
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