Since my last article regarding the successful harnessing of tidal power to generate electricity, I have been researching what progress Portugal has made towards renewable energy production, and it’s impressive. Some authorities claim that this has now risen to 60%
54% of Portugal’s electricity is now generated by renewable energy::Since my last article regarding the successful harnessing of tidal power to generate electricity, I have been researching what progress Portugal has made...
As a Portuguese, I'm quite proud of this tho I think we can still do better (or at least find a way to not get price gauged).
I was in a week-long vacation in the island of Madeira recently and was shocked by how many solar and wind farms they had, no to mention the energy generated by the sea around it. It was astonishing and at least restored my faith in my countrymen, just a bit.
Portugal and Spain are the best places for solar in Europe. It's why they are expanding so heavily and places like Germany are being forced to restart coal plants, despite investing heavily in renewables. Solar in Portugal and nuclear in Germany/France is the quickest way toward de-carbonizing the European energy grid.
Wave farms have yet to pan out and may not ever pending some technology leap. They just don't produce enough power for how much maintenance they require. Salty water full of debris and living stuff is a bitch.
As far as wind farms go, they are cheaper to put on land due to how much open space the US has, so therefore that is where they go. Building and maintaining the things are much, much cheaper when you don't need a boat to get to them.