Portugal ran on renewable energy alone for four days in a row
Energy — di Rudi Bressa
107 hours of energy from renewable sources. A record across Europe. Portugal has been investing in renewables since the late '90s.
Portugal ran on renewable energy alone for four days in a row
107 hours of energy from renewable sources. A record across Europe. Portugal has been investing in renewables since the late '90s.
Portugal has set a record that will go down in the history of renewables in Europe. From 6:45 am on Saturday 7 May to 5:45 pm on Wednesday 11 May, all the electricity consumed on Portuguese territory was produced from renewable sources. 107 uninterrupted hours during which gas and coal were not needed.
The news was first reported by Zero, a Portuguese organisation founded in 2015 with the aim of achieving sustainable development in Portugal. "These are data collected by the National Energy Statistics Network, day by day," writes Francisco Ferreira in an email. "The charts show how output from hydropower — both large-scale and mini — wind and biomass was sufficient to cover consumption."
Renováveis asseguram durante mais de 4 dias seguidos o consumo de eletricidade em Portugal zero.ong/consumo-de-ele…
The figures, confirmed by Ren (Rede Energética Nacional), also show that the surplus of electricity produced was exported to Spain and from there to France. In other words, Portugal generated so much energy that it was able to export it to neighbouring countries while meeting domestic demand entirely from renewable sources.
Portugal's investment in renewables since the '90s
The Lusitanian country has been investing in renewables since the last century, particularly in wind installations. Wind as an energy source reached maturity in 2014, when installed capacity hit 4,953 MW (IEA Wind data), bringing wind's share of renewables to 25 per cent. Some 42 per cent of the country's total installed capacity thus comes from renewables. In 2014, Portuguese wind farms produced 12.1 TWh, providing a consistent contribution of 24 per cent of national electricity consumption. Today the main sources remain, alongside wind, hydropower, biomass and waste-to-energy.
"These data," the organisation writes on its official website, "show that Portugal can be more ambitious in its transition […] to 100 per cent renewable sources, with enormous reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming and the consequent climate change."