Portugal’s national grid operator, REN, announced at a workshop in late November that wind generation delivered 71% of the nation’s electricity on November 15, 2009.
REN estimates that wind will provide 14% of total generation in 2009, up from less than 1% in the year 2000. Through the 18th of November wind has generated 6 TWh of Portugal’s 43 TWh of consumption.
Other sources of renewable energy have also more than doubled their contribution to generation, rising from 6% in 2000 to an estimated 13% in 2009.
On the 8th of November, a Sunday, wind generation provided 50% of total generation and less than a week later on Saturday, November 15, wind provided 71% of total generation.
Portugal, like its Iberian neighbor Spain uses a feed-in tariff to enable the development of wind, solar PV, and other forms of renewable energy.
Because of the feed-in tariff specifically for wind, capacity has grown from 100 MW in 2000 to more than 3,300 MW today.
Portugal has a population of 11 million, about that of Ontario, Canada.
Workshop Despachabilidade da Eolica: one-page flyer
