From the morning of May 7 to the afternoon of May 11, Portugal’s electricity consumption was fully covered by renewable sources.
For 107 hours, Portugal powered all of its electricity from biofuels, hydropower plants, wind turbines, solar panels, and geothermal heat. But this is not the first time that Portugal has boasted an impressive energy statistic.
For a few hours at the end of 2011, all of the country’s electricity demands were met by renewable energy. The country’s annual renewable energy consumption has grown in recent years. In 2013, Portugal got almost 26 percent of its electricity from renewables, rising to 63 percent in 2014. But because of a drought, Portugal’s source of renewable electricity decreased to 50.4 percent in 2015.
Portugal generates 30 percent of its electricity from hydropower, about one quarter from wind, 6.4 percent from biofuels and waste, and 1.2 percent from solar. Wind energy production grew by more that 600 percent between 2004 and 2009, and in 2014, Portugal was second only to Denmark in wind power.
Of course, Portugal’s bold renewable energy initiative would not be possible everywhere. As of 2015, the country had a population of about 10.8 million, whereas the US is home to nearly 320 million. Geographically, the country is about the size of Maine.
But in comparison to other countries in the European Union, who are more similar to Portugal in terms of population and geographical size, Portugal’s renewable energy initiatives are still impressive.
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I talked to one representative of a renewable energy company in Portugal and it was Northern European. Instead of making their own solar panels in Portugal and helping everyone have free energy, the government has made agreements to import the solar panels from Northern Europe making solar paneling very expensive. The poor Saharawi refugees in Southern Algeria buy their solar panels at 150 euros each and the camps have free solar energy. What Jesus said about the religious leaders of his day could be apply to today's governmental officials. "They bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers."(Matthew 23:4) We need governments which actually help their people, not oppress them.
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