LISBON (Reuters) – Renewable utilities supplied 88% of Portugal’s electricity consumption in January, as heavy rains coupled with good wind and solar conditions allowed to sharply reduce the use of gas-fired power plants, grid operator REN said on Wednesday.
The country aims to generate 80% of its annual electricity usage from renewable sources by 2026, up from around 60% in 2022, which was already one of the highest ratios in Europe.
European nations are increasingly betting on renewable energies, especially after gas prices hit record highs in 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which was Europe’s top gas supplier.
In a statement, REN said that in January of this year “weather conditions were favorable for renewables, which had high levels of productivity”.
Heavy rains boosted hydro production, which supplied 51% of total consumption in January, while wind made up 28% and solar 4%.
As a result, the production of electricity through gas power plants fell 64% in the same month.
Portugal has 8.8 GW of hydroelectric capacity, 13.3 GW of onshore wind and 3.1 GW of solar, which together represent 87% of its total installed capacity.
REN said total electricity consumption rose 4.1% in January, compared to the same month last year, to 4,833 Gigawatt hours (GWh), 88% of which was supplied by renewables.
In January 2022, renewables supplied only 52% of total electricity consumption.
(Reporting by Sergio Goncalves; Editing by David Latona and Alistair Bell)
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