Renewables supplied 77% of electricity consumption in May, with solar at record highs

Renewable energy production supplied 77% of electricity consumption in May, with solar energy accounting for 17% of the total, the highest contribution ever for this technology. Non-renewable production accounted for 16%, while the remaining 7% corresponded to imported energy.

In May, electricity consumption fell by 0.1%, or zero change when adjusted for temperature and the number of working days. At the end of May, cumulative annual consumption was up 1.8% year-on-year, the same figure when adjusted for temperature and working days. In the same period, hydroelectric power plants had a productivity index of 1.52 (historical average equal to 1), unlike wind and solar power plants, which had below-average conditions and indices of 0.73 and 0.93, respectively. Even so, solar power plants, which continue to grow strongly, exceeded 3,000 MW for the first time this month.

From January to May, the hydroelectric productivity index was 1.45, wind productivity was 0.99 and solar productivity was 0.79. In the same period, renewable production supplied 82% of consumption, divided between hydroelectric with 40%, wind with 27%, photovoltaic with 10% and biomass with 5%. Natural gas production supplied 12% of consumption, with the remaining 6% corresponding to imports.

The natural gas market saw an overall year-on-year increase of 40%, driven by growth in the electricity production segment, while the conventional segment recorded a year-on-year decline of 2.1%. This month, the national system was supplied entirely from the Sines LNG terminal, with the national system continuing to export through the interconnection with Spain.

From January to May, cumulative gas consumption recorded a year-on-year change of 7.1%, with the electricity production segment growing by 81%, offsetting the 6% contraction in the conventional segment. 96% of national supply was ensured through the Sines terminal and the remaining 4% through interconnection with Spain. Nigeria and the United States are the main sources of gas consumed in Portugal, accounting for 52% and 34% of the total, respectively.