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New Energy World
New Energy World embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low carbon technologies.
Portugal takes a lead in decarbonising electricity generation
18/5/2022
8 min read
One small, Atlantic-facing European country – Portugal – has made giant strides towards decarbonising its electricity needs, beginning with hydro and moving on to wind and solar power. Charlie Bush finds out how.
Today, renewables contribute 59% of Portugal’s electricity needs, with wind and hydropower doing most of the work.
Pedro Amaral Jorge, President of the Portuguese Renewable Energy Association (APREN), explains Portugal’s achievement: ‘We have no fossil fuels of our own and even if we did, our protective environmental laws would most likely prevent businesses from extracting them. Consequently, transitioning to renewables has made sense from both a business and environmental perspective for a long time.’
Jorge attributes much of Portugal’s decarbonising headway to successfully conveying the advantages of renewables to the government, businesses, investors and the populace. Geography has played a key role here as the Iberian country is well placed to take advantage of both wind and solar power. This has persuaded the government to provide a supportive regulatory environment and a legal framework that encourages investment, leading to investors financing multiple renewable projects over the past decade or so.