54.4% of electricity produced by renewables until November

  • Lusa
  • 12 December 2022

According to the Portuguese Renewable Energy Association (APREN), in Portugal, "38,836 GWh of electricity were generated between January and November 2022, of which 54.4% was of renewable origin."

The incorporation of renewables in power generation decreased to 54.4% by the end of November, compared to 62.6% in the same period last year, APREN reported on Monday.

According to the Portuguese Renewable Energy Association (APREN), “in mainland Portugal, 38,836 GWh [gigawatt hours] of electricity were generated between January and November 2022, of which 54.4% was of renewable origin.”

As for the “November, 4,141 GWh of electricity was generated, of which 53.6% was of renewable origin,” it said.

“The 2.8% increase compared to November 2021 is mostly due to the increase in wind and pumping production, which contributed 463 GWh to production in November compared to 149 GWh in the same period last year,” explains APREN in its report on ‘Renewable Electricity Bulletin in Mainland Portugal’.

The association also pointed out that “hydroelectric production recovered compared to the values of recent months, with the hydraulicity index of 0.88 – the highest value of the year, and close to the average of the last 10 years in November”.

According to APREN, from January to November, the electricity-producing sector emitted a total of 5.7 MtCO2eq (metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent), while the renewable electricity sector avoided the emission of 6.9 MtCO2eq and the spending of €4.094 billion on importing natural gas.

In comparison with the leading countries of the different European markets, APREN noted that until the end of November 2022, “Portugal was the fourth country with the highest renewable incorporation in electricity generation, behind Norway, Denmark and Austria, which obtained 99.3%, 81.7% and 65.0%, respectively, from RES [renewable energy sources].”

In November, it ranked fourth in the countries considered, with the highest renewable incorporation in Europe.

The bulletin published today by APREN also showed that “the average hourly price recorded in Mibel [Iberian electricity market] in Portugal (174.5 €/MWh – euros/megawatt hour) represents a double increase compared to the same period last year.

“In the same period, 126 non-consecutive hours were recorded in which renewable generation was sufficient to supply mainland Portugal’s electricity consumption, with an average hourly price on Mibel of 114.6 €/MWh, and in November renewable generation was enough to supply consumption for 49 consecutive hours.

Also, according to APREN, “since 15 June, when the Iberian natural gas price cap mechanism went into operation, until 30 November, it generated savings of 40.4 €/MWh, which was equivalent to a reduction of 12.5% in the average hourly price at Mibel”.

According to the association, “savings due to the natural gas price cap, corresponding to the difference between the price without the mechanism and the price with compensation payable to natural gas power stations, reached a maximum of 157.2 €/MWh and a minimum of 0 €/MWh”, with “a total of 75.1 of the 140.5 TWh [terawatt hours] produced being subject to the consumer adjustment mechanism in the Iberian Peninsula”.

In the first nine months of the year, “Special Regime Generation (SRG) led to an accumulated saving of €7.85 million and €683 million in November alone,” APREN said.