Solar urban planning to the EU 20-20-20 targets

Portugal, notwithstanding great investments in renewable energy production, still has a great dependence of fossil-fuel based electricity. This scenario leads to not only economic problems, as Portugal does not explore any oil or gas reserve in its territory but also ecological and sustainability issues. The European Union has set goals, known as the “20-20-20“that require a paradigm shift of the entire energy system. Portugal, taking advantage of its geographical position, is well placed to reach these targets and become a dominant player in the European renewable energy market. This paper aims to contribute to a mindset change regarding energy production in urban con-text. On this basis, a case study in the city of Beja is presented to show the potential of photo-voltaic systems implementation in the urban context and discuss the finance analysis of the PV generation. Regardless of the obtained results, the research looks at Solar Urban Planning as a tool to achieve EU’s 20-20-20 goals and define the path towards Zero Energy Buildings (ZEB).