Portugal sets new renewable energy production record

• 5 months ago (2023-11-08)
• David Flin

Europe 1061 Renewables 752 Transmission 181

---

Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), Portugal’s network manager, announced that for 149 consecutive hours, renewable energy production in the country exceeding consumption. The previous record was 131 hours, recorded in 2019.

REN said in a statement: “Between 0400 on 31 October and 0900 6 November, ie, for more than six consecutive days, 1102 GWh were produced, exceeding the national consumption figure for the same period of 840 GWh by 262 GWh.”

During that period, two additional records were broken.

The first was between 2200 on 31 October and 0900 on 6 November during which renewable energy production exceeded the amount needed to supply the entire national grid, including the pumping needs of hydropower reservoirs, without recourse to conventional thermal generation sources such as CCGT power plants. This came to 131 consecutive hours, well more than double the 56-hour record set in 2021.

The second record was achieved between 1000 on 1 November and 0900 on 5 November, and corresponds to 95 consecutive hours in which renewable production was greater than consumption, without the need to use thermal power plants and with Portugal exporting to Spain. This surpassed the previous record of 52 hours, set in 2018.