Portugal scraps coal in power stations

Portugal has decided to stop using coal in its power stations two years ahead of schedule.

The Portuguese energy giant EDP has announced that it will close its coal fired power plant at Sines which was responsible for 13.5% of its carbon emissions according to the company.
It will be the third country after Austria and Sweden and Belgium to stop using the black solid fossil fuel in its power stations.
Belgium was the first which scrapped coal in 2016. EDP said it would close one more plant and convert another unit in Spain.
EDP is now researching the development of a green hydrogen production project in Sines, Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade, the acting executive president of EDP said in a statement on its site, “The decision to anticipate the closure of coal plants on the Iberian Peninsula is a natural consequence of this energy transition process, in line with European carbon neutral targets and with the political will to meet these deadlines early”.
Kathrin Gutmann, director at the Europe Beyond Coal Campaign said: “Portugal has already accelerated its coal phase-out from 2030 to 2023. The fact that it is being brought forward yet again to 2021 shows just how fast a country can clean up its energy system when it commits to clean energy and climate action.”