Portugal Breaks Renewables Record

The race to adopt more environmentally-friendly energy sources is on, and Portugal took the lead as the shining example when the country recently ran entirely on renewable power for six consecutive days.

According to National Energy Grids (REN), the Mediterranean nation enjoyed a surplus in its energy supply, thanks to increased production from wind, wave and solar sources, meeting the needs of roughly 10 million Portuguese citizens for six days for a total of 149 hours starting from 31 October.

Portugal last achieved such a feat in 2016, when the country ran on renewable energy alone for 107 hours, or over four consecutive days. That’s not to say the country’s power grid did not have fossil fuel plants running, but that it was able to function entirely on alternative energy sources.

REN released a statement just after the new record gained traction: “These significant achievements confirm that Portugal has been maintaining a sustainable trajectory in progressively integrating indigenous renewable sources.”

The Paris Agreement declared several attainable climate goals for 2050; one of the goals is that the signatories must achieve annual carbon neutrality by that time. Several countries have more or less achieved this, thanks to natural wind, solar and wave resources that enable stable renewable energy.

Portugal took up the initiative and took up intensified efforts, leading to the country’s last coal-powered plant shutting down in 2022.

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