Ambassador of Portugal to South Africa, Manuel Carvalho

Portugal is at the forefront of the transition to renewable energy in Europe. The Ambassador of Portugal to South Africa, Manuel Carvalho, spoke about his country’s great strides in this transition, with more than half its electricity needs met by renewables.

He said Portugal’s experience of moving towards renewable energy – taking advantage of its blue skies and wind – over the past 10 years could also be relevant and encouraging to South Africa.

Portugal aims to exclude coal as a power source over the next nine years, and has already repurposed most of its old coal stations into facilities for green hydrogen production. Its last coal power plant will close down at the end of November 2021.

At times, the country produces more energy than it consumes and is able to export green power.

This success is the result of clear targets, national strategies, wide-ranging regulations and a rapid expansion of renewable energy generation, Carvalho said.

The consistency of the policy approach was tested with a change of government and serious economic contraction, but despite the pitfalls, it survived these and other challenges, he noted.

Opening up the renewable energy market to private companies is essential, said Carvalho. Portugal’s maturing green technology means that investors from across the world in the sector are reaping the benefits of green and solar energy. Load-shedding is unknown.

The country plans to go further with its green efforts, and aims for 100% of its vehicles to be electricity powered by 2050.

Economic growth, reskilling and leaving no one behind must be part of the green-energy strategy for Portugal’s democratic survivability.

“I see the same discussion here now that I saw in my country 10 years ago,” he noted, adding that he hopes sharing Portugal’s experience might serve as encouragement for South Africa.

Now that climate change is “no longer in doubt”, this makes the need for energy transition even more compelling, he said.