Lisbon, May 5, 2026 (Lusa) – Portugal’s Energy Agency (Adene) and Spain's Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE) formalised the creation of the Iberian Energy Observatory on Tuesday to monitor energy transition and efficiency in the Iberian Peninsula.
Adene announced in a statement that the parties signed a Memorandum of Collaboration on Tuesday in Madrid to develop the observatory.
The project aims to become "a strategic cooperation instrument to monitor, analyse, and disseminate information on energy transition and energy efficiency in Portugal and Spain."
The signing fulfils a commitment from the 36th Luso-Spanish Summit, held on 6 March in Huelva, which resulted in 12 bilateral agreements and a joint declaration on climate security.
Nelson Lage and Ana Paula Rodrigues, president and vice-president of Adene, and Miguel Rodrigo Gonzalo, Director-General of IDAE, signed the memorandum.
The agreement establishes "a collaboration framework aimed at strengthening technical and institutional cooperation between the two entities, highlighting the strategic role of energy in the future Iberian agenda".
Nelson Lage described the move as a structural advance in Iberian energy cooperation. "The Iberian Energy Observatory represents a decisive step in building a common knowledge base between Portugal and Spain, essential to supporting more effective, transparent, and results-oriented public policies. Sharing data, methodologies, and best practices is today an indispensable condition for a fair and competitive energy transition," he said.
Adene intends for the observatory to serve as "a platform to aggregate and disseminate public and comparable information on the energy sector in both countries", focusing on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and the energy transition.
Key cooperation pillars include the exchange of public information and data relevant to energy policy, the sharing of experiences and best practices between Portugal and Spain, and the promotion of joint analyses, studies, and initiatives, including events of common interest.
Gonzalo highlighted the strategic importance of this joint initiative, underlining its impact on the quality of public decision-making and Iberian convergence.
"Spain and Portugal share a commitment to the climate agenda, and the Iberian Energy Observatory, which will undoubtedly serve as an effective instrument to intensify our cooperation and accelerate the implementation of renewable energy and energy efficiency," he said.
A central domain of cooperation between the agency and IDAE involves "combating energy poverty through the exchange of solutions and instruments to protect vulnerable consumers." Adene noted it had taken a "leadership role" in this field within Portugal.
The agreement includes technical collaboration on industrial energy efficiency, the energy performance of products and processes, and the promotion of energy communities and collective self-consumption.
These efforts align with European goals for competitiveness, social cohesion, and climate neutrality.
With the Iberian Energy Observatory, the agency and IDAE believe they are taking "a decisive step towards transforming data into strategic knowledge, supporting public decision-making, and consolidating the Iberian Peninsula as a benchmark for a just and competitive energy transition."
As both entities belong to the European Energy Network (EnR), this memorandum "equally reinforces Iberian cooperation within that network, deepening technical and strategic coordination between Portugal and Spain in the European context", the statement said.
PD/RYOL // ADB.
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