Portugal is making big strides toward reducing its dependence on foreign oil by introducing standard-setting national renewable energy projects. Taking full advantage of the country’s bountiful amount of sunlight and wind, a large portion of Portugal’s most trendy hotspot bars and resorts are already powered substantially by clean energy. And following this momentum, 45% of the entire country’s electricity grid will now come from renewable sources, more than twice the amount in 2005. The government, motivated especially by the fact that Portugal has very limited access to fossil fuels of its own, will also implement a national network of charging stations for electric cars and has plans to make better use of domestic hydropower sources.

But what about the cost of all this? Officials claim these environmental initiatives will be no strain on the national budget and will cause no debt, but some citizens are resisting for fear of rising taxes. Nonetheless, Portugal is continuing to become an international example of a society which has made clean energy policies sustainable and effective. Hopefully the United States will follow suit. Read more here: Portugal Gives Itself a Clean-Energy Makeover

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