Electricity in Europe will cost less by 2030: 45% of energy in the region will be cheap and renewable
45% of European energy and electricity should be obtained from cheap renewable sources within the region by 2030. This goal was announced on August 30 by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
The goal is much higher than the previously announced 32%. However, von der Leyen is sure that Europe needs such a breakthrough into new energetics. The President sees the current energy crisis primarily as a failure of fossil fuel-centered systems. To get out of the crisis, Europe needs a green alternative.
It will weaken region’s dependence on Russian gas and oil. The region itself will produce a significant part of its required energy. Moreover, for Europeans electricity bills will gradually get smaller. The environmental damage caused by using fossil fuels will also be reduced.
Europe set its previous goal in 2018. By 2020*, the region received 22.1% of itselectricity and energy from renewable sources. In Luxembourg, renewable energy accounted for 11.7% of the total amount.
45% renewable energy in 8 years is just one of the goals of the RePowerEU project. It also includes the bloc’s recent voluntary agreement to cut gas consumption by 15% until March 2023. The accumulation of gas in European storage facilities is also a part of this project. Ursula von der Leyen has said that the storage facilities are on average filled to the required 80%.
In the coming years, the European energy sector will undoubtedly face serious reforms. EU energy ministers will meet on 9 September. Their goal — to discuss the future of the electricity market. President von der Leyen has said that the agreements underlying this market are outdated. And thus not suitable for solving modern problems.
*Latest year for which EC statistics are currently published
