The Regional Director for Energy stated today that about 40% of the electricity produced in the Azores in the first half of 2019 was from renewable and endogenous energy sources.
 
Andreia Carreiro considered that this is a “very relevant result in the context of island areas, which validates the Regional Government's commitment to promote the transition to clean energy, focusing on natural resources as one of the pillars in the decarbonised development of the Azores.”
 
As for the overall electricity produced in the Azores in the first six months of 2019, water sources represented about 4%, wind sources about 8% and geothermal sources about 26%, stated Andreia Carreiro. In this regard, she stressed that “renewable energy sources are intermittent and their availability depends on several uncontrollable factors, such as weather conditions,” which accounts for possible monthly variations in the use of each source.
 
“Due to the inconsistency of natural resources, such as rain, wind or sun, the inclusion of energy storage systems in the power grid is crucial. In fact, there are studies under way with the aim of leveraging the contribution of renewable-energy power plants," stated the Regional Director. According to her, it is estimated that by 2023, about 56% of the electricity will be produced from renewable and endogenous energy sources.
 
Andreia Carreiro spoke on the sidelines of a visit to Pico Alto Geothermal Power Plant, where she stated that electricity production from energy sources reached more than 38% on Terceira Island, with geothermal sources representing around 13%.
 
The Regional Director emphasised that geothermal energy production is “one of the most successful projects in the Azores that delivers clear economic and environmental benefits," adding that she positioned the archipelago as “an example to be followed in the European context in terms of investment in geothermal electricity production.”
 
Andreia Carreiro also noted that the Regional Government is an essential and active part of the S3 PARTNERSHIP Geothermal Energy 2.0 working group. It creates synergies between the Azores and regions of Spain, Finland, Hungary, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Scotland and Turkey with the aim of sharing, testing and presenting solutions for the emerging challenges in geothermal energy production, thereby leveraging its exploitation in the European Economic Area.