Portugal meets its energy needs from renewable sources for six days in a row. At least 21 dead after storms in the Dominican Republic

The devastating consequences of the climate crisis pose major challenges for the world. Extreme weather events, floods and wildfires continue to increase, destroying lives and livelihoods worldwide and rendering entire swathes of land uninhabitable. In order to emit as few climate-damaging emissions as possible in the future, every country in the world must reorganize its energy production.

Some countries are already further along than others. In Europe, Portugal is one of the model students – which has now made people take notice again: the country with 10 million inhabitants on the Atlantic coast has taken another important step towards a greener future.

For six days, from October 31 to November 6, the amount of renewable energy produced by Portugal exceeded the needs of the country’s population. This is reported by “Canary Media”, a non-profit portal specialized in climate journalism.

The six-day record refers to the 149 consecutive hours in which “energy from renewable sources exceeded industrial and household consumption nationwide.” Previously, the Portuguese record for energy supply from renewable energy sources was 131 hours – just over five days – and was achieved in 2019.

Portugal: Gas-fired power stations as backup

As “Canary Media” explains, the new record does not mean that there were no fossil fuel power plants in operation, but only that “total generation from renewable energy sources more than covered customers’ needs.” Hugo Costa from Portuguese wind energy company EDP Renewables explained:

Portugal committed to expanding renewable energy sources at an early stage and in 2016 set the goal of being climate neutral by 2050 – well ahead of many other EU countries. While other countries can score points with carbon-free electricity from nuclear power plants, Portugal has never relied on its controversial nuclear power plants and has no plans to do so in the future.

According to Portuguese grid operator REN, natural gas consumption for the country’s electricity generation fell by 39 percent in the January-October period compared to last year. Total gas consumption is now at the lowest level since 2006. Portugal is also a pioneer when it comes to phasing out coal: the country closed its last coal-fired power stations at the end of 2021.