As much as we want to move towards a future where we can rely on only zero-emission energy, there’s a kind of unwritten thought that it’s not really possible yet. But actually, it turns out that’s not true: The whole country of Portugal ran off renewable energy for four continuous days this month.
From 6.45am on Saturday, May 7, until 5.45pm on the Wednesday, all the electricity consumed in Portugal was generated by solar, wind and hydro power, according to national energy network figures. That’s a 107 hour stretch, and pretty impressive breakthrough.
Spokesman for the Wind Europe trade association Oliver Joy, said:
We are seeing trends like this spread across Europe - last year with Denmark and now in Portugal. The Iberian peninsula is a great resource for renewables and wind energy, not just for the region but for the whole of Europe.
A similar thing happened in Denmark last year, and May 15 Germany generated nearly all of it’s power from wind farms.
[via Guardian]
