Portugal Just Ran On Entirely Renewable Energy For A Record-Breaking 6 Consecutive Days
As we rested in our beds during the early hours of Halloween, Portugal embarked on an extraordinary streak. Over six consecutive days, the country generated more energy from renewable sources than it consumed, setting a remarkable record.
A record-breaking streak
Between 4 am local time on October 31 and 9 am on November 6, a remarkable 149 consecutive hours saw Portugal break its own 2019 record of 131 hours, continuously generating 1,102 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of renewable energy. This exceeded the country’s actual demand, with industrial and household consumption only reaching 840 GWh.
While this milestone doesn’t imply complete shutdowns of fossil fuel plants, another achievement during this period hints at a potential future. Portugal surpassed its previous record by going gas-free for 131 consecutive hours, with 95 of those hours marked by surplus clean energy that could be exported to Spain.
REN, the company overseeing Portugal’s electricity and gas supply, highlighted these accomplishments, stating on its website, “These significant achievements confirm that Portugal has been maintaining a sustainable trajectory in progressively integrating indigenous renewable sources, while upholding the primary objectives of supply security and service quality.”
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Ahead of the game
Portugal stands out as a trailblazer in the realm of renewable energy. While the rest of the European Union committed to becoming carbon-neutral by 2050 in 2019, Portugal had already made this pledge in 2016. Additionally, it aimed to end coal usage by 2030, achieving this objective almost a decade ahead of schedule with the closure of its final coal plants nearly two years ago.
The nation relies primarily on wind and solar power as its main renewable energy sources, a strategy that could evolve into hybrid plants combining both. Hugo Costa, overseeing renewables at the state utility, highlighted their complementary nature: “Combining wind and solar reveals significant complementarity. When there’s wind, there’s often less sun, and vice versa.”
Following the pattern set with coal, Portugal aims to phase out all natural gas-fired power plants by 2040. Earlier this year, plans were unveiled to double the country’s solar and hydrogen energy capacity, building upon Europe’s largest floating solar park already established in Portugal. Pending successful public hearings, Portugal seems well on track to realize its carbon-neutrality ambitions.
Source – https://www.iflscience.com/
