Renewables reduce emissions of 6 million tonnes of CO2 and save 1.3 billion euros of fossil fuel imports
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2018, the year in which records were "beaten"
In March 2018, renewable production was enough to satisfy the total consumption of electricity in mainland Portugal, with a special contribution from wind and water technologies.
In average terms, 2018 was marked by a renewable incorporation in the electric consumption of 55.1%, which corresponds to an increase of 28% over 2017. This fact comes from a higher productivity of large hydro which has double the 2017 values, representing 24.1% of consumption. The wind technology represented a production of 12.3TWh, corresponding to 24.3% of consumption, which made it, for the first time, the largest source of electricity in Mainland Portugal.
These levels of renewable incorporation provide great economic and environmental benefits for the Country:
- A saving in imports of fossil fuels of € 1268 M was achieved;
- There was a reduction between 2017 and 2018 of about 6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions associated with electricity production, from 19.4 million tonnes in 2017 to 13.5 million tonnes in 2018. This reduction represents about 10% of national emissions;
- It was possible to avoid the purchase of CO2 emissions licenses amounting to € 191 million, corresponding to a total of 12 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
2018 was marked by:
A sharp rise in electricity prices in the spot electricity market, with an average annual value of € 57.4 / MWh, which is about 18% higher than the average value of 2017. This increase was mainly due to:
- Increase in electricity consumption (2.5% above 2017) in mainland Portugal;
- Increase in the price of the European market for CO2 emissions licenses by 2.7 times compared to 2017, with the average annual value of € 15.9 / tCO2 in 2018;
- The unavailability of some nuclear reactors in Spain and other European markets, leading to an increase in the price of electricity throughout Europe;
- Rising of fuel prices compared to last year, by about 34% in natural gas and 15% in coal.