PORTUGAL AN ECOLOGICAL COUNTRY

PORTUGAL AN ECOLOGICAL COUNTRY

Portugal is banking on ecological innovations, such as solar power and floating wind turbines, to reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels.

Of all the European Union countries, Portugal reduced its CO2 emissions the most in 2018, by 9%, compared with an average of 2.5% in the rest of Europe. This makes Portugal an environmentally friendly country.

This reduction is largely attributable to the development of green energy in Portugal. According to Eurostat, 54% of electricity generated in Portugal in 2016 came from renewable sourcesThis makes it the third best in Europe in this respect. Behind Austria and Sweden.

For six days in March 2018, Portugal even covered all its energy needs thanks to renewable energies. Their development should also eventually enable Portugal to free itself from its dependence on imported fossil fuels.

On the other hand, the price of electricity for households and industry is one of the highest in the Union.

Portugal has also embarked on the development of innovative technologies. In Alto Rabagão, in the north, EDP is testing a floating solar power plant. These are 840 photovoltaic panels that have been installed on a platform drifting on the artificial lake formed by one of the country's many hydraulic dams.

All this is still experimental, but it has a lot going for it: if the tests are successful, it could help to develop solar energy. Which currently accounts for just 2% of the energy mix.

The largest floating wind power plant

Off the coast of Viana do Castelo, on the border with Spain, another floating project, this one wind-powered, is due to come on stream in 2019. After more than five years of successful experiments. "The floating wind turbines have withstood extreme weather conditions, including waves of over 15 meters, says José Medeiros Pinto, secretary general of Apren, the Portuguese renewable energy association. These tests led to the development of the 25 MW Windfloat Atlantic project, which will be the largest floating wind power plant in existence." 

Choosing to develop floating offshore allows Portugal to solve the problem posed until now by the great depth of its continental shelf, which prevents the installation of conventional offshore wind turbines.

Portugal is truly an ecological country.