Review of Green Energy Sources in the EU

The evolution of the green energy change in the European Union… Energy production and use accounts for more than 75% of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, decarbonising the EU’s energy system is critical to achieving the 2030 climate goals and the EU’s long-term strategy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Against the backdrop of the energy crisis and coal renaissance, the EU will help Europe move from its polluted fossil past to a green future and achieve its goal of zeroing greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, rather than nuclear power plants and gas stations being prohibitive.

Renewable electricity mix in the European Union from 2013 to 2020, by energy source (in terawatt hours)

Planning to get rid of Russian energy sources… Senior officials agreed that the race to get rid of Russian gas in the short term will mean burning more coal and nuclear power. REPowerEU is the European Commission’s plan to make Europe independent of Russian fossil fuels long before 2030 in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ending the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels will require faster electrification and replacement of fossil-based heat and fuel in industry, buildings and transport, as well as massive scale-up of renewable resources. The transition to clean energy will help reduce energy prices and reduce dependency on imports over time. Renewable energy is the cheapest and cleanest energy available and can be produced domestically, reducing the need for energy imports. The Commission proposes to increase the EU’s 2030 target for renewable energy from the current 40% to 45%. The REPowerEU Plan will bring total renewable energy generation capacities to 1,236 GW by 2030, compared to 1,067 GW by 2030 projected under 55-for-Fits.

Nuclear energy… The energy crisis is ravaging the whole world and is especially felt in Europe, which buys one-third of the gas consumed in Russia and generally three-quarters of it depends on fuel imports. The population and businesses in the EU are dissatisfied with the sharp rise in prices, and there are increasing demands to suspend expensive green restructuring. Gas prices in Europe reached exorbitant proportions at the end of last year, and coal came to the fore not only in the Old World, but throughout the world. Coal use in power plants around the world hit record levels in 2021 and will remain there for at least a few more years.

Share of renewable energy in gross electricity consumption in the European Union from 2012 to 2020

Nuclear power is one of Europe’s leading sources of carbon-neutral energy, but without strong government support and social acceptance, its future is uncertain. The 130 nuclear reactors in the fourteen EU member states produce around 30% of the electricity produced in the EU. There are varying opinions among EU member states on the phasing out of one of the largest decarbonisation sources and its implications for decarbonisation. Public concern over the safety and price of nuclear power is fueling phasing out. Evaluation of all externalities will allow for a fair comparison between energy sources and technologies, including comprehensive environmental and safety benefits. The IEA states that “building new wind and solar projects is more expensive than extending the life of existing nuclear reactors, which requires an investment of $500 million to $1 billion per GW of capacity.” The absence of government support for nuclear power in Europe and globally will have implications for baseload capacity.

Distribution of carbon dioxide emissions in the European Union in 2020 by main source

Conclusion? The volume of renewable generation in Europe continues to grow. However, since 2019, more than half of the new RES has been replaced by gas electricity sources, one-third nuclear power plants and only one-sixth coal-fired power plants. At the same time, previously (from 2011 to 2019), more than 80% of new renewable capacities replaced coal-fired generation. Increasing shutdowns and decommissioning of nuclear facilities also slowed the rate of coal production decline. In 2021, wind and solar produced more electricity than gas (524 TWh) for the first time, setting a new record (547 TWh), despite modest growth due to lower wind speeds. Solar power generation is booming in both the north and south of Europe: 27% more electricity was produced in 2021 than in 2019, and production in the Netherlands and Spain doubled in the same period.

Offshore wind power capacity installations (in megawatts) in Europe from 2000 to 2020

Kaynak Enver Erkan / Tera Yatırım
Hibya Haber Ajansı