While France continues to (almost) everything to bet on nuclear electricity ... countries are currently and regularly beating renewable electricity production records! This month it's Portugal's turn to achieve a real tour de force of renewable energy!
A few days after Germany produced so much renewable electricity that electricity producers had to pay customers to consume it (!!), a new European country has achieved a new "ecological" record ... Portugal has succeeded in eat for 4 consecutive days entirely on renewable electricity!
Indeed; records and analyzes the Portuguese electricity grid showed that all electricity consumption in Portugal was produced by solar photovoltaic, wind or hydroelectricity, this between 6:45 a.m. on May 7, 2016 and 17:45 p.m. on May 11, 2016, i.e. more than 4 full days (107 hours !)!
The production of renewable electricity is therefore progressing rapidly in Europe and that is a good thing. Small downside: the crisis has also happened there and on the one hand people are paying more attention and on the other hand industrial activity is rather reduced at present. Last year Denmark broke its own record by generating 42% of its electricity just with wind!
James Watson, CEO of SolarPower Europe, told The Guardian. “The energy transition (towards renewable energies) is underway and growing rapidly. Records like this will continue to be broken soon! ”
Portugal has made many efforts to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels (for the generation of electricity) and switch to more sustainable sources. As this record was set in May, power companies hope to surpass it during the coming summer. Remember that only 3 years ago, half of electricity generation in Portugal came from fuel oil plants and a third from nuclear! Like what: a strong enough will is enough to quickly and strongly reduce a country's dependence on fossil fuels ... at least for the production of electricity (for transport it's a little more complicated for the moment ...) ! In 2016, Portugal on average produced almost 50% of its electricity renewable!
This record of energy autonomy is attributable to good weather conditions but also to better management of the electricity network (smartgird)
Let us hope that this record will be exceeded in the coming months and years and in other countries of Europe… and of the world towards a more… ecological planet!
On a smaller scale, the island of El Hiero, in the Canaries, has been following this path for a longer time and permanently. Of course, its location is special: presence of trade winds, relief, reduced size ... But still: http://www.natura-sciences.com/energie/el-hierro-independance-energetique-renouvelables-canaries826.html
Thank you and there are others in the world, bigger and even in Europe, I found this info from 2012 concerning Austria: https://www.econologie.com/forums/energies-renouvelables/l-autriche-bientot-en-autarcie-aux-energies-renouvelables-t11544.html With an environmentalist in power it could well happen soon enough https://www.econologie.com/forums/energies-fossiles-nucleaire/jean-marc-jancovici-est-il-un-con-t14740.html)