Renewable energy accounted for 80.7% of electricity generated in mainland Portugal in January, according to the Portuguese Renewable Energy Association (APREN).
In its latest renewable electricity bulletin, the association said that a total of 4,420 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of renewable power was produced out of 5,479 GWh generated overall between January 1 and January 31.
APREN said this was the highest level of renewable incorporation since April 2025, the month of the notorious blackout which left Portugal and Spain without electricity for more than 10 hours.
The result also moved Portugal from its usual fourth place to second among the European markets analysed, behind Norway at 96.3% and ahead of Denmark at 78.8%.
Electricity production was led by hydroelectric power, account for 36.8% of the total, followed by wind at 35.2%, and solar at 4.4%.
APREN said stronger hydro and wind output helped support an 8.3% rise in electricity consumption during January, which reached record levels for the month.
The period was also marked by severe storms, damage and power cuts in several regions, conditions that coincided with high hydro and wind generation.
Meanwhile, imports represented 5.6% of electricity consumption in mainland Portugal during the month.
The “average hourly price on the Iberian Electricity Market (MIBEL) stood at €71.0 per MWh, down 26.6% year-on-year”, the association said.
There were also 210 non-consecutive hours when renewable production was enough to cover the country’s total electricity demand.
According to APREN, using renewable sources during the month resulted in estimated savings of €703 million compared with electricity generated from natural gas power plants.
