Portugal’s energy security in the context of moving away from fossil fuels

Abstract

Portugal is a country on the Iberian Peninsula with a population of just over 10 million people. The country has no reserves of energy resources such as oil, natural gas, or coal and is therefore dependent on their imports. Nevertheless, it has no problems ensuring energy security. It imports oil from countries such as Brazil, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Angola, and gas from Algeria, Nigeria, the United States of America and Qatar. All imports of crude oil and most imports of petroleum products pass through the two main ports of Sines and Leixões, while gas is imported via the Sines LNG terminal and two cross-border gas pipelines at Campo Maior and Valença do Minho. Coal imports are no longer a problem following the closure of the last coal-fired power plant in 2021. As recently as 2019, fossil fuels accounted for as much as 76% of Portugal’s total primary energy supply, with oil accounting for 43%, but the majority of this demand was consumed by road transport (51%), followed by oil-based industries (16%) and household heating (5%). Now, however, the situation is changing. Hydropower and rapidly developing wind and solar energy account for a large share of electricity generation. By 2030, Portugal plans to commission between 600 and 900 MW of new solar capacity annually. Energy security in Portugal is the responsibility of the government and the relevant ministries. As in many other European countries, there is a clear drive towards decarbonization and measures are being taken to ensure that this process takes place as soon as possible, as is explicitly stated in Portuguese government documents. The analysis presented in this article shows that Portugal, despite lacking significant energy resources, can guarantee its energy security at a high level.