Hydropower in Portugal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hydropower in Portugal - Assignment Example which are running while others are still under construction, are all aimed at enabling the nation to meet its objectives of energy sustainability and European Union’s goals of renewable energy. Evidently, hydropower has impacted Portugal’s social and economic sectors. Expansion of hydropower capacity is secondarily motivated by the economic and social benefits presented by this renewable energy source. First, hydropower is a cheap source of energy, which is instrumental in improving the business favorability of a nation. In addition, projects related to expansion of hydropower capacity across Portugal presents beneficial effects to the nation’s social and environmental sectors. Potential benefits of hydropower are responsible for the government’s active role in expanding the nation’s hydropower capacity. In addition, the potential benefits trigger interest from among communities in Portugal. Technically, development and expansion of hydropower is beneficial to any nation. In 2013, Portugal; a nation with approximately 10.2 million people, relies on electricity as the main source of power. Different methods are used in generating the needed electricity demands within the European nation. Theoretically, all methods of generating electricity are categorized as either renewable or non-renewable methods. Renewable sources of electricity include but not limited to, geothermal energy, solar energy, wind energy and hydropower (Smith, 2012). Contrarily, examples of non-renewable sources are fossil fuels like oil, coal and natural gas, and nuclear energy. Currently, 58.3% of electricity power in Portugal comes from renewable sources. The total percentage of all renewable sources in Portugal is derived from multiple sources whereby wind makes up 46.3%, hydropower makes up 41.6% while the rest is evenly distributed among geothermal, solar and biomass energy sources (Renewable Facts, 2011). Technically, Portugal generates 21756 MW of electricity power. 18.79% of