Energy Milestone: Renewables Power Portugal for Four Days Straight
The achievement "comes just days after Germany announced that clean energy had powered almost all its electricity needs" on Sunday, The Guardian reports, adding that "power prices [turned] negative at several times in the day—effectively paying consumers to use it."
Wind turbines at Sines, Portugal. (Paulo Valdivieso / CC BY-SA 2.0)
Wind turbines at Sines, Portugal. (Paulo Valdivieso / CC BY-SA 2.0)
Solar, wind and hydro-generated energy powered the entire country of Portugal for 107 hours in mid-May.
The Guardian reports:
Electricity consumption in the country was fully covered by solar, wind and hydro power in an extraordinary 107-hour run that lasted from 6.45am on Saturday 7 May until 5.45pm the following Wednesday, the analysis says.
News of the zero emissions landmark comes just days after Germany announced that clean energy had powered almost all its electricity needs on Sunday 15 May, with power prices turning negative at several times in the day – effectively paying consumers to use it.
Oliver Joy, a spokesman for the Wind Europe trade association said: “We are seeing trends like this spread across Europe – last year with Denmark and now in Portugal. The Iberian peninsula is a great resource for renewables and wind energy, not just for the region but for the whole of Europe.”
James Watson, the CEO of SolarPower Europe said: “This is a significant achievement for a European country, but what seems extraordinary today will be commonplace in Europe in just a few years. The energy transition process is gathering momentum and records such as this will continue to be set and broken across Europe.”
—Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.
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