
Portugal ran on clean energy for four days in a row, according to a report on Sunday.
The 107-hour period, which took place between early morning on Saturday, May 7 and the evening of Wednesday, May 11, marks a record for the country. Hydro electricity, solar, and wind power provided all of the energy for the grid, removing the need to draw from coal or natural gas.
The changeover also needed to take into account the interconnection between Portugal’s grid and those in Spain and France, to which Portugal exports.
The data was monitored by the Portuguese Renewable Energy Association, the National Energy Network, and Zero, a sustainable energy association. Portugal’s four days of green energy could spur competition across Europe as countries turn to more sustainable methods. The report from Zero said that they hope for “significant contributions” from clean energy in the summer, weather permitting.
Portugal is also working on cutting down on emissions from the automotive sector and other types of transportation, which are the biggest culprits when it comes to emitting carbon dioxide.
Germany is also working on using more sustainable energy, and sourced a record 95 percent of its energy from renewables on Sunday, May 8.
Next, Portugal aims to “be more ambitious in a transition to a net consumption of electricity from 100 percent renewable, with huge reductions of emissions of greenhouse gases.”
As more and more countries commit to sustainable energy, we should expect to see records like this more often – until sustainable energy is the norm.