Market Trends of Portugal Renewable Energy Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the Portugal Renewable Energy Market according to our research experts:
Hydropower to Dominate the Market
- In 2018, out of total electricity generated by renewable sources, approximately 45% of the electricity was produced by hydropower in the country. The electricity produced in 2018 by hydropower was 13757 gigawatt-hour, which was higher than that generated in 2017, 7632 gigawatt-hour (GWh).
- In 2018, Spanish utility Iberdrola announced to build three new dams and power plants in Portugal. The dams are expected to be located on the Tâmega and the Torno rivers of the larger Douro River, which rises in Spain and flows across northern Portugal to the Atlantic Ocean. The projects are expected to have a total capacity of 1158 MW and are likely to start operations by the end of 2023.
- In 2019, Iberdrola, a multinational electric utility company, entered Portugal's solar market after securing 149 megawatts (MW) of solar projects in the country. The project is likely to be split into two and built in the Algarve and the Tajo Valley regions.
- Therefore, owing to the above points, hydro energy is likely to dominate the Portugal renewable energy market during the forecast period.
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Increasing Renewable Energy Installations to Drive the Market
- In 2018, more than 50% of the electricity generation in the country was from renewable energy sources and remaining from fossil fuels. The government of Portugal has planned to reduce greenhouse gases emission to 0% by 2050 by installing more renewable energy generation capacity. In 2018 the electricity generation from renewable energy was 30643 gigawatt-hours (GWh).
- In 2018, the total renewable energy generation plant installed capacity was 13646 megawatts (MW), which was higher than the installation capacity of 2017, 13400 megawatts (MW).
- In 2018, out of total electricity produced from renewables, 42% was from wind energy. In 2019 the first wind turbine from WindFloat Atlantic Project left Spain port and reached Portugal. In January 2020 wind turbine generated electricity as a pilot project in offshore Portugal. In 2019, Acciona signed a contract with Vidrala Group to supply them with the electricity generated from the renewable energy sources in 2020. The electricity supplied is expected to be used by Vidrala's two glass container plants and is likely to use 173 gigawatts-hours (GWh) of electricity.
- Hence, owing to the above points, increasing renewable energy installations are expected to drive the Portugal renewable energy market during the forecast period.
