Portugal's national grid operator Redes Energeticas Nacionais (REN) unveiled on Monday that the country's renewable energy facilities fulfilled nearly 70% of the nation's electricity requirements in May.
In a groundbreaking achievement, solar energy alone supplied 12% of the total electricity demand last month, marking the highest contribution to date from this energy source. Non-renewable sources made up a mere 3%, with the remaining 27% being sourced through imports, according to data released by REN.
The overall electricity consumption experienced a modest uptick of 2.1%. After adjusting for temperature fluctuations and the number of working days, the adjusted increase stood at 3.2%.
In the first five months of the year, renewables have consistently met an impressive 87% of Portugal's power needs. Among them, hydropower plants claimed the lion's share with 43%, closely trailed by wind parks contributing 30%. Solar photovoltaic (PV) plants and biomass collectively accounted for 14%, with 8% and 6%, respectively.
REN's data highlights that natural gas production supplied 9% of the nation's electricity consumption, while imports covered the remaining 4%.
