Renewable energies: Portugal, a model in Europe

Published on : 10/30/2021 – 11:48Modified : 10/30/2021 – 11:50

Twenty kilometers from Portugal, in the middle of the ocean, stand three gigantic wind turbines. One of them, 190 meters high, is the tallest in the world. But thanks to this location, it does not cause any noise or visual pollution.

To stand up, these wind turbines are installed on floating platforms secured to the seabed using chains. An innovative system, created by the Portuguese company Windplus, which, for the first time in the country’s history, makes it possible to produce energy using air currents far from the coast.

“Until now, we could not use the offshore wind. However, it is more powerful and more stable than on land. It is better for the activity of machines”, explains to France 24 José Pinheiro, project director.

Floating solar panels

Several tens of kilometers away, in the province of Braga, the Alto Rabagão hydroelectric dam hosts another innovation: floating solar panels. A first in Europe.

Main advantage of this project: the electrical networks created for the dam can thus also be used for solar panels.

“There is a complementarity between these renewable energies. In general, when there is wind, there is less sun and vice versa”, details to France 24, Filipe Guerra, project director for EDP (Energias de Portugal ).

A new facility, twenty times the size of this one, is due to be built soon.

Thanks to these infrastructures, renewable energies have represented a growing share of the country’s energy consumption since the 2000s. “It is constantly improving. Today, of all the electricity consumed in Portugal, 65% comes from ‘renewable energies’, greeted Pedro Amaral Jorge, president of Apren (Portuguese Association for Renewable Energies).

Lisbon predicts that these green energies will completely meet its electricity needs by 2040. Ambitious objectives shared by Sweden, another good European student in this area.