PORTUGAL: Making Up for Lost Time in Renewable Energy

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38245

LISBON, Jun 20 (IPS) - For decades, Portugal basically ignored the infinite possibilities proffered by its geographical conditions for producing clean energy. But that is starting to change, and the country is now among those that are putting the strongest emphasis on alternative energy sources.

The most abundant sunlight in Europe, strong winds from the Atlantic Ocean to the west, strong flowing rivers and huge ocean waves have long been disregarded in this South European country, which has chosen instead to pour a large part of its revenues into paying its bulky oil bill.

But Portugal is now one of the countries in the 27-member European Union (EU) with the most ambitious alternative energy goals, having set a target for 45 percent of its electricity to be produced from alternative sources by 2015.

When it took office in March 2005, Portugal's socialist government, under Prime Minister José Sócrates, an environmental activist in his youth, assumed a commitment to make up for lost time in this area.

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have predicted THAT??

Both of them are near historical highs for natural gas use.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/international/iealf/tablee3.xls

Denmark is almost using the same amount of carbon dioxide as it was generating in 1990 though. Portugal's carbon dioxide emissions are about 150% of what they were in 1990.

It is fun to note that the "renewables" program includes so much hydroelectricity, especially since Portugal has been experiencing desertification in recent years.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/international/iealf/tableh1co2.xls

Of course Denmark and Portugal are real big on talk but one thing they never talk about is a plan to phase out fossil fuels. In fact they have no such plan. They're kind of like Maine in this regard.

It is easy - real easy - to talk about "percent" when one is speaking of tiny economies. "Percent" is actually not a unit of significant energy. A unit of significant energy would be the exajoule. Between them, Portugal and Denmark account for two exajoules of the 470 exajoules the planet uses. Great leaders, they.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/international/iealf/tablee1.xls

There is actually no evidence that any of these predictions will come true, any more than people's predictions of the immanent return of Jesus have come true.

The total average power demand for all of Denmark - including the energy that runs its automobiles and heats its homes - is 28,000 MW. The total power for all of Portugal - again, all energy included and not just electricity - is 37,000 MW.

Big deal.

and their plan to import increasing amounts of coal-fired electricity from West Virginia...