The one good thing about foul weather is that the rain and wind help boost green energy production.
Last weekend and on Monday the rain and wind that swept large parts of Portugal enabled the National Energy Network (REN) to achieve new production records for the year to date.
National electricity production reached a new high on Monday, February 15, at 228 Gigawatt Hour (GWh), surpassing the previous record of 216 GWh, recorded in January.
Domestic production of green energy managed to supply 56% of the nation’s needs on Sunday and, given the weather conditions over the weekend and on Monday, hydroelectric generation and wind together would have been sufficient to supply between 60% and 70% of national consumption.
REN emphasised that during production peaks, the national electricity system demonstrated "resilience and reliability, while maintaining high levels of service quality. This means that not a single wind turbine burst into flames or collapsed and that the current system is robust.
For the year so far, hydroelectric power has supplied 38% of Portugal's electricity consumption, wind power has supplied 29% and the total from renewable sources has been 71% of total, photovoltaic making up the difference along with with biofuel combustion.
Despite the Paris agreement on CO2 reduction, the government insists that oil and gas exploration is the way forward for Portugal, as does Galp Energia which is investing in oil refining capacity in Sines rather than boosting research and development in renewables technology.
For a few glorious hours at the end of 2011, Portugal's entire electricity need was met by renewable sources of energy. This should be the target as if Costa Rica can hit 99% of energy from renewable sources (2105), surely Portugal with its sunshine and space can achieve the same?
A recent report from Morocco covered news that King Mohammed VI had switched on the first phase of the world’s largest concentrated solar plant in Ouarzazate. The final two phases of the project will finish in 2018 when the plant will have a 580 MW capacity and provide energy to more than 1 million local people.
Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly from the World Bank stated, “The returns on this investment in Morocco will be significant for the country and its people, by enhancing energy security, creating a cleaner environment, and encouraging new industries and job creation.”
Portugal started well down the renewables route and has an impressive inshore hydroelectric infrastructure but lacks investment and encouragement for the solar and wave power systems that could set the country apart from its peers.
The low-wage population pays a relatively high price for electricity despite the supposed freeing up of the supply market to competition. The influenece on energy policy by the big oil companies cna not be underestimated with Galp Energia's last annual report mentioning renewable energy once, and only in passing.
We have better news from EDP Renováveis (EDPR), the subsidiary of the EDP Group operating with renewable energies, headquartered in Madrid.
EDP Renováveis is the leader in the renewable energy sector after Iberdrola Renovables and NextEra Energy Resources and the second largest operator of wind energy in the world after Iberdrola Renovables.
The company runs the EDPR Europe subsidiary and EDPR North America. Hence there are operations in Texas, Iowa, Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, Poland, Romania, USA and Brazil.
EDPR was created in 2007 to maintain and operate the increasingly active in renewable energy parent company Energias de Portugal and to date has focused its efforts on onshore wind power but is ‘examining and following’ technological advances and regulatory changes in other renewable technologies such as solar thermal energy and offshore wind energy.
Until companies such as EDPR see regulatory stability and opportunity further to develop Portugal’s green energy sector, the country will do ‘OK, but not well’ against unexciting targets.
EDP’s control and influence over the granting of photovoltaic (PV) energy production licenses to domestic consumers showed the company as its meanest, choking off supply in collusion with a complicit government by restricting the number of PV licenses available so it could sll its more profitable coal and gas produced electricity, rather than subsidise local PV systems set up by individuals feeding back into the grid.
Portugal abounds with development opportunities for renewable energy research, development, hardware production and production itself but while investment remains low and planning remains sporadic, the sector will not progress as fast as it could.
Paris agreement watered down
Following a decision of the European Council in October 2014, it is proposed that by 2030, the total energy consumed in the European Union area, at least 27% must be from renewable sources.
The goal for 2020 is 20%, hardly an ambitious proposal and Portugal already is way ahead of this percentage.
This is the EU’s response to the recently signed Paris Agreement where nations agreed an urgent need to act decisively on the reduction of greenhouse gases and to promote renewables.
Adding to this underwhelming target, there is a strong possibility that the percentage targets will be for the EU as a whole which means highly industrialised countries can rely on the sunny southern green energy producers such as Portugal to ease their pain.
For any of this to work, it is essential to ensure the right of all citizens to generate and consume their own energy, a right already recognised in Portugal but still denied in many European countries.
The simplification of administrative procedures, the granting of tax benefits to projects implemented by citizens, local cooperatives and communities alongside the provision of information and training on alternative energy production methods are other measures that can ease Europe into an alternative way of energy production.
Governments need also to shake off the dominance of the big oil companies which successfully lobby for continued dependence on petrochemicals.
