Renewable energy in Portugal has managed to meet the total of the country´s energy demand during last March. The production exceeded the energy demand reaching 103.6% and the Portuguese country expects that by 2040, the production of renewable electricity will guarantee the total annual electricity consumption of mainland Portugal.
Portugal´s energy needs in March were met, in a historical milestone, through the renewable energy sources (hydro, solar, wind, geothermal and biomass power plants), with their production surpassing the energy demand, reaching 103.6% according to the data provided by the Sustainable Earth System Association and the Portuguese Renewable Energy Association (APREN).
The total production of renewables in March prevented the emission of 1.8 million tons of CO2, which has resulted in savings of 21 million euros.
55% of the energy produced was attributed to hydroelectric plants, while on the other hand wind farms produced 42% of it. Solar energy sources and biomass power plants covered the remaining 3%.
According to REN data, the electricity produced from renewable energy sources in Portugal in March was 4,812 Gigawatt hours (GWh), surpassing the energy consumption, which was 4,647 GWh.
According to the APREN report, “last month’s achievement is an example of what will happen more frequently in the near future. It is expected that, by 2040, the production of renewable electricity will be capable of guaranteeing, in an effective way in terms of costs, the total annual electricity consumption of mainland Portugal (the archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are excluded) “.
The total production of renewable energy in Portugal also prevented the emission of 1.8 million tons of CO2 during that month, which has resulted in savings of 21 million euros.
Antonio Sá da Costa, president of APREN, made a statement last month regarding the goal that by 2040 the production of renewable electricity guarantees the total annual consumption of mainland Portugal: “Everything depends on the future evolution of the batteries to store the energy generated. We know that we can generate large amounts of renewable energy, but at the moment we have no way of retaining it in the long term. The ideal would be to be able to use batteries at times when production is lower than consumption, or have European connections that be good enough to import energy stored in other countries. “
