Renewables met 70% of Portugal's demand in May

Portugal's national grid operator Redes Energeticas Nacionais (REN) announced on Monday that the country's renewable energy plants met almost 70% of the national electricity consumption in May.

Solar supplied 12% last month alone, the highest ever for this power source, while non-renewables covered 3% and the remaining 27% corresponded to imported energy, according to data from REN.

Overall electricity consumption grew by 2.1%. When adjusted for the effects of temperature and number of working days, the increase was 3.2%.

During the first five months of the year, renewables have met 87% of the nation's power needs. Hydropower plants were at the top of the contribution list with a share of 43%. Wind parks followed in second place with 30%, while solar photovoltaic (PV) plants and biomass accounted for 8% and 6%, respectively.

REN's data shows that the rest of the electricity was met by natural gas production supplying 9% of the consumption and import with the remaining 4%.

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