Portugal’s renewable power generation hit record level in 2023
by AFP Staff Writers
Lisbon (AFP) Jan 2, 2024
Portugal obtained a record quantity of its electricity from clean sources in 2023, with renewables accounting for 61 percent of power use, national grid operator REN said on Tuesday.
Wind provided 25 percent of the electricity consumed in Portugal last year, ahead of hydropower (23 percent), solar photovoltaic (7.0 percent) and biomass (6.0 percent), REN said.
The strongest growth was in hydropower. Output rose 70 percent as the sector bounced back from the 2022 drought.
Photovoltaic rose 43 percent on the back of growing instalments of solar panels.
Although Portuguese electricity demand last year hit its highest level since 2018, only 19 percent of its consumption was met by non-renewable domestic generation.
As a result, the country’s natural gas imports, which come mostly by LNG tanker from Nigeria and the United States, fell 21 percent last year.
A further 20 percent of Portugal electricity use last year was met by imports, mostly from Spain.
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