Portugal Gives Itself a Clean-Energy Makeover

daem0n1x writes "It appears that some countries in oil-poor Europe are making a successful transition to renewable energy at a fast and steady pace. This article talks about the small country of Portugal on the West Coast of Europe, known for its white sand beaches, oranges, fish, and wines. Portugal has no oil, but lots of sun and wind. Five years ago, the government decided, against many dissenting voices, to invest massively in taking advantage of the country's natural resources in clean energy. The results are here. It used to be a heavy energy importer, but now it exports it."

Comments

Even according TFA, it doesnt add up.

[Abtin]

So the government seized the private wealth of individuals to create really expensive new energy which, according to TFA, increase Portueguese energy costs by 15% on top of the exorbitant (2x the US) rate they already paid. So the Portueguese got reamed twice - once to pay for it, and again to pay to maintain it.

Also, since money is a rough proxy for emissions, and the project costs so much, its reasonable to conclude that the "clean" energy is in fact more polluting than fossil fuels which are a fraction of the price. This is particularly applicable to Europe where, according TFA, the emissions trading system builds the costs of emissions into the fuel.