Wind-erful! Portugal was Powered by Renewable Energy for 4 Days in a Rowby Rosa Domingos | 02-08-2018 14:45 |
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 Back in May, Portugal made history by running for 107 hours (approximately four days in a row) on renewable energy alone (Nelsen, 2016). The entire country was powered by wind, solar, and hydro-generated electricity from 7th to 11th May. It lasted from 6.45am on Saturday 7 May until 5.45pm the following Wednesday (Nelsen, 2016). News of the zero emissions landmark comes just days after Germany announced that clean energy had powered almost all its electricity needs on Sunday 15 May, with power prices turning sour at several times in the day – effectively paying consumers to use it (Greenpeace UK, 2016). Last year, wind provided 22% of electricity and all renewable sources together provided 48%, according to the Portuguese renewable energy association (Nelsen, 2016).  Photo courtesy of Pete Titmuss/Alamy Stock Photo (Nelsen, 2016). While Portugal¢¥s clean energy surge has been spurred by the EU¢¥s renewable targets for 2020, support schemes for new wind capacity were reduced in 2012. Despite this, Portugal added 550MW of wind capacity between 2013 and 2016, and industry groups now have their sights firmly set on the green energy¢¥s export potential, within Europe and without (Greenpeace UK, 2016). "This is a significant achievement for a European country, but what seems extraordinary today will be commonplace in Europe in just a few years," - James Watson, the CEO of SolarPower Europe (Greenpeace UK, 2016). Take a bow, Portugal! Reference Nelsen,. A. 2016. Portugal runs for four days straight on renewable energy alone. [Online]. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/18/portugal-runs-for-four-days-straight-on-renewable-energy-alone. Accessed: August 1, 2018. May 16, 2016. Greenpeace UK,. 2016. 12 positive & inspiring environmental stories showing 2016 wasn?t all bad. [Online]. Available: https://medium.com/@GreenpeaceUK/12-positive-inspiring-environmental-stories-showing-2016-wasnt-all-bad-a992340b873c. Accessed: August 1, 2018. December 23, 2016. (&cover picture) |
