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A new study by E3G and Ember finds that wind and solar produced a quarter of EU electricity since the war began, with record growth from last year alone avoiding €11 billion in gas costs. However, the EU still spent an estimated €82 billion on fossil gas during this period to supply 20% of its electricity.
Authors: Pieter de Pous, Artur Patuleia, Sarah Brown, Chris Rosslowe
Record renewables
Record growth in wind and solar avoided €11 billion in gas costs for EU
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, wind and solar generated record amounts of electricity, relieving pressure on energy security and avoiding further costly gas imports.
The study shows that past policy choices that increased the EU’s dependency on gas and held back the EU’s renewable and energy efficiency ambition are the main drivers of Europe’s record-high inflation now. Nevertheless, existing wind and solar capacity avoided considerable high-priced gas imports and thus prevented an even higher inflation and deeper crisis.
The European Commission’s RePowerEU ambition has the potential to reduce Europe’s exposure to costly gas imports significantly and quickly, strengthening its energy and price security. For that, it would need to be supported by EU Member States and the European Parliament and put into legislation, currently subject to negotiations.
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Supporting Material
Methodology
Notes of methodology
Monthly electricity generation is from Ember’s dataset (see methodology and download data), and the EU data is taken from ENTSO-E. The dates considered were 1 March to 30 September. It has been assumed that, due to the costs of producing electricity from gas power plants being the most expensive, any wind and solar power generated replaced gas in the electricity mix. A gas plant efficiency rate of 50% (gross calorific value/higher heating value) has been used. Average day ahead prices from March to September on the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) fossil gas prices have been used to calculate gas cost savings. A conversion factor of 1 bcm = 9.7 TWh has been applied.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Raphael Hanoteaux, Lisa Fischer for their valuable insights and support
