Lisbon, June 11, 2025 (Lusa) - Renewable energy sources accounted for more than 75% of the electricity produced in Portugal in May, a month in which national electricity generation increased by 20.6% year-on-year, the Portuguese Renewable Energy Association (Apren) announced on Wednesday.
“During May, 75.8% of the electricity produced in mainland Portugal came from renewable sources, totalling 3,179 GWh [gigawatts/hour],” Apren said in a statement.
The association also highlights that, in the month following the Iberian blackout on April 28, there was a 20.6% increase in national electricity generation compared to May last year.
According to the details, hydro technology was at the top of the production podium in May, with 36.3%, followed by wind with 17.5% and solar with 16.6%.
During the first five months of the year, renewable production avoided the emission of 4.9 MtCO₂eq (million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent), with the electricity production sector emitting a total of 0.99 MtCO₂eq, with an average figure of 43.9 gCO₂-eq/kWh (grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt/hour).
The average price of carbon dioxide (CO₂) on the European Emissions Trading System (EETS) stood at €70.9 / tCO₂ (euros per tonne), an increase of 12.9% over the previous year.
From January–May, renewable energy accounted for 81.0% of electricity production, placing Portugal third in Europe (among the markets analysed) in terms of the share of clean sources in electricity production, behind Norway (97.4%) and Denmark (85.2%).
At European level, Apren points to hydroelectric power as the “most significant” renewable technology in this period, followed by onshore wind and solar power, which “continues to gain relevance”.
In terms of prices, between January–May, the average hourly price recorded on the Iberian electricity market, MIBEL, in Portugal was €61.12 / MWh (euros per megawatt/hour).
According to the association, there were 1,171 non-consecutive hours in which renewable generation was sufficient to fully meet electricity consumption in mainland Portugal, with an average price of €57.8 / MWh during those hours.
By the end of May, Portugal had an electricity import balance of 1,437 GWh, resulting from 4,006 GWh imported and 2,569 GWh exported, with imports in the month under review corresponding to 6.6% of national electricity consumption.
The figures released today by Apren also indicate that between January 1–May 31 this year, special regime production (PRE, mainly composed of renewable sources) enabled cumulative savings of €3.951 billion through the wholesale market order of merit.
Quoted in the press release, the association’s CEO said that these figures “clearly show how renewables are essential not only for cutting emissions but also for making the economy more competitive”.
“With increased investment in networks, storage and flexibility, Portugal has everything it needs to take an even more prominent position in the European energy transition,” said Pedro Amaral Jorge.
Since 2015, installed renewable capacity has grown by 8,807 MW (+71.7%), with an increase of 323 MW between December 1, 2024 and April 1, 2025 alone, particularly in photovoltaic solar energy, which grew by 186 MW in the centralised component and 198 MW in the decentralised component.
In April, renewable capacity represented around 78.3% of total installed capacity in Portugal.
For Apren, it is urgent to “create market conditions that value the strategic contribution of renewables and accelerate the energy transition, ensuring security, independence and sustainability for the national electricity system”.
PD/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
