Portuguese waves supply families with electricity

This small country in southern Europe is highly dependant on imported energy and has everything to gain from making use of its geography. A strong wind from the Atlantic, swollen rivers, waves as high as houses and a lot of sunshine need to ensure that Portugal will get 31% percent of its energy from renewable energy by 2020. That’s a lot, especially since Europe hasn’t dictated any quota yet. 
In comparison: according to a document from the European Commission, in 2005 Belgium only got 2.2% of its energy from renewables, as opposed to 20.5% in Portugal. The Belgian ambitions aren’t very high neither: the goal is 13% of renewable energy in  2020, as much as the Czech Republic, Cyprus and Hungary.  Only Malta and Luxemburg are less ambitious with targets of ten and eleven percent respectively. (sa)