Portugal is located in the south western part of the continent of Europe. If one studies the growth and development of Portugal in terms of economic standards, agricultural and mineral resources, society and cultural, one will find that there has been an substantial improvement in each field and the rate of growth has remained more or less steady.

The source of power generation is a vital task for every nation as it is power which produces electricity and in the present mechanized world where man depends more on machines than his own capabilities, power resources and electricity are very significant means of possession. Power can be hydro power, thermal power, nuclear power, wind power, solar power derived from the solar energy etc. Portugal too prides of its power and mineral resources. Statistics reveal that in the year 2006, 55% of the total amount of electricity generated was from mineral resources like coal and also through fuel power plants. This is because Portugal has several oil refineries and is rich in oil reserves too. Hydroelectric power constituted about 40% of the rest and remaining 5% was occupied by wind energy. It is significant to mention here that it was in the year 2006 that the first commercial wave power farm in the world was inaugurated in Portugal. In the same year, the largest solar plant in the world began functioning in this country.

The reason why Portugal encourages power generation through solar energy, wind energy or wave power is the fact that all these resources are constituents of what is known as renewable energy. It is the objective of the Portuguese government to ensure that by 2010, renewable energy sources should constitute half of the electricity utilized by the country and for this purpose, a whopping amount of $ 3.8 billion has been allocated by the government.