Key Highlights:
- Portugal will be accelerating its energy transition and will switch to renewable sources.
- The country gets 60% of its electricity from sources and has one of the largest proportions of green energy use in Europe.
- Portugal has 7.3 GW of hydroelectric capacity and 5.6 GW of onshore wind parks that together represent 83% of the total installed renewable sources capacity.
Portugal will be accelerating its energy transition and will switch to renewable sources. The country will increase the proportion of renewable sources by 20% which will account for 80% of the electricity output by 2026, which is four years earlier than planned.
Gradually, countries around the world are adopting renewable energies and sustainable sources as part of the global shift away from carbon-emitting fossil fuels. The transition has been accelerated with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Portugal aims to be Carbon neutral
Portugal’s new socialist government has promised that the overall program released on Friday. It encapsulates that the energy plans will be mobilized with more than 25 billion Euros being invested in the initiative for the next 10 years. There will be involvement of public and private players, incentives, and financing.
In a news conference, Cabinet Minister Mariana Vieira da Silva shared, “Portugal has already taken very significant measures in the energy transition, but the evolution and duration of the war in Ukraine must necessarily imply new measures.”
Currently, the country gets 60% of its electricity from renewable sources and has one of the largest proportions of green energy use in Europe. Portugal is committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
Russia’s invasion affecting energy supplies
Portugal does not depend on Russian natural gas pipelines and mainly imported liquefied natural gas from Nigeria and the U.S. The country has not imported Russian crude since 2020. The Portugal government also aims to double the installed capacity of renewable sources in the next 10 years.
Last year, Portugal closed two coal-fired power plants. It has 7.3 GW of hydroelectric capacity and 5.6 GW of onshore wind parks that together represent 83% of the total installed sources capacity.
