From our special envoy Madeira
Porto Santo, sandy beach, seven kilometers long, its rugged landscape, its vegetation is arid, in the archipelago of Madeira. And her ambition to become an island free of fossil fuels. This policy is paid by the autonomous government of Madeira, with the support of the one of Portugal.
The challenge is high, as Porto Santo presents strong specificities. It is an island of just a dozen kilometers long and six wide. She lives only for tourism, so much so that it has around 5000 permanent residents, but four to five times more in the summer. And it is not connected to Madeira on the electrical plan, which induces constraints demanding in terms of energy management. The desire to develop renewable energies is confronted with the need to ensure a supply of electricity to permanent residents. A pv array and a wind turbine have been installed. But the bulk of the electricity comes from a …
