section_path: Economy/Energy
section_name: Energy
paragraph_text: Energy
  
  As of 2023, oil made up 44% of Portugal's total energy supply. However the country phased out coal-fired generation in 2021 and has been developing renewable energies such as hydopower and wind power and investing in public transport and electric vehicles.
  
  Portugal has considerable wind and hydropower resources. In 2006, the world's then largest solar power plant, the Moura Photovoltaic Power Station, began operating, while the world's first commercial wave power farm, the Aguçadoura Wave Farm, opened in the Norte region (2008). By 2006, 66% of the country's electrical production was from coal and fuel power plants, while 29% were derived from hydroelectric dams, and 6% by wind energy. In 2008, renewable energy resources were producing 43% of the nation's electricity, even as hydroelectric production decreased with severe droughts. As of 2010, electricity exports had outnumbered imports and 70% of energy came from renewable sources.
  
  Portugal's national energy transmission company, Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), uses modelling to predict weather, especially wind patterns. Before the solar/wind revolution, Portugal had generated electricity from hydropower plants on its rivers for decades. New programmes combine wind and water: wind-driven turbines pump water uphill at night; then water flows downhill by day, generating electricity, when consumer demand is highest. Portugal's distribution system is now two-way. It draws electricity small generators, like rooftop solar panels.
  
  In 2023 Portugal emitted around 339 million tonnes of greenhouse gases (about 5 tonnes per person), equivalent to around 1% of global total emissions. As an EU member state, Portugal is part of their joint plan to reduce emissions by a minimum of 55% by 2030, compared to the level of emissions in 1990. Portugal has committed to carbon neutrality and net zero by 2050.