Renewable sources accounted for 43 percent of the energy consumed in Portugal in September, against 42 percent from non-renewables, and with the remaining 15 percent imported.
According to the Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), which is charged with the overall management of the national electricity and gas systems, for the first nine months of the year as a whole, 45 percent was generated from renewable sources and 44 percent from non-renewables, while 11 percent was imported.
Breaking down the renewable share by source, wind farms supplied 24 percent of consumption, hydroelectric dams 14 percent, biomass plants 5 percent, and photovoltaic panels 2.3 percent, while in non-renewable natural gas fuelled 32 percent of consumption and coal 12 percent.
According to REN, “this year coal production has been falling, particularly in August, where coal plants had the lowest use ever in the national system.”
For the first nine months of the year, the index of annual hydropower production stood at 0.62 (against a historical average of 1), a reflection of the dry weather in the period, REN said. Wind production was at 0.99, or “practically in line with the average”.
For September, REN reported a 3.1 percent decrease in electricity consumption on the same month a year earlier, or a little less than a 2.9 percent decrease after correction of the effects of temperature and the number of working days.
