"Non-renewable production supplied 42% of consumption in 2019, split between natural gas with 32% and coal with 10%, the lowest share of coal since the full coming into service of the Sines plant in 1989," the company said in a statement.

Portugal has two coal-fired plants: Sines and Pego, which came fully into service in 1995.

In his inauguration speech after the October general election, Portugal’s prime minister, António Costa, announced that his new government is ready to close the Sines plant – which is owned and run by EDP – Energias de Portugal - in September 2023.

In his Socialist Party’s election programme, the timetable for the closure of the plant was stated as being "between 2025 and 2030".