Renewables race hots up in bid to keep energy bills down
Portugal is joining France and Spain to fast-track its energy transformation away from oil and gas dependence.
Portugal already generally has 50% of its energy needs met by renewables, (eolic, hydro and solar power) but recognises that it may have to step up further as the US-Israeli war on Iran has plunged the world into the largest energy crisis ever faced – and that includes the OPEC crisis of the 1970s and the invasion of Ukraine in 2023.
Relying on imported oil and gas has already cost the EU €24Bn on top of what they would already have planned to spend. Without renewables, this bill would be even higher.
Solar power has saved Europe more than €100 million a day since the war began and renewables overall are a huge part of keeping electricity bills down. Thanks to more renewable power coming online, electricity prices were an average of 24.2 per cent lower between 2023 and 2025 period across 19 countries.
Rising household bills have been a worldwide concern since the US-Israeli attacks on Iran led to the closure of the Hormuz Strait.
Portugal, according to Reuters, has promised to temporarily cap electricity prices if needed. The Consumer Protection Mechanism would be implemented if retail electricity prices rose by more than 70%, or exceed 2.5 times the five-year average, surpassing €180 per megawatt-hour.
The government would cover the initial cost of support that “would be recovered later” according to the Minister of the Presidency, Antonio Leitao Amaro.
Portugal is less dependent on natural gas for its electricity compared to many European countries and in the first two months of the year about 79% of the electricity consumed in Portugal came from renewable sources, according to official data.
Portugal is aiming for energy independence by 2050 through aggressive expansion of renewable energy, targeting 51% of final energy consumption from renewables by 2030 and 80% electricity production this year.
Key strategies include eliminating coal, massively expanding solar and offshore wind, investing in green hydrogen, and enhancing storage capacity to reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels.
Portugal has also decided to enact sweeping reforms in the wake of last year’s blackout which plunged the country into a power cut for around 14 hours.
One year on, a Portuguese parliamentary working group has published its final report on the blackout, recommending sweeping changes to how the country handles power grid failures — and acknowledging that the government’s response in the first minutes was guided by “intuition” rather than any established plan.
The report, presented yesterday (Tuesday), proposes that hospitals, health centres, nursing homes and emergency services be required to maintain a minimum of 72 hours of energy autonomy, with all other critical infrastructure required to sustain at least 24 hours.
It also calls for the fuel storage limit at such facilities to be raised from 500 litres to 3,000 litres — a ceiling already common in other European countries — and for food retailers and pharmacies to be formally classified as critical infrastructure.
Sources: Lusa and Euronews, Credits: EDPR
