Electricity costs have risen sharply in Europe in recent months
According to a new report, solar energy provided 12.2% of the electricity generated in the European Union this summer, the highest share on record. According to analysts at energy think tank Ember, if this electricity had been generated from natural gas-fired power plants, it would have cost 29 billion euros. Electricity prices have risen sharply in Europe in recent months, triggered by Russia's war in Ukraine.
The situation could be even worse were it not for the record share of solar energy generated, says the report published on Thursday by Ember. Gas prices in Europe have reached a new record. How high can they go?
According to Ember analysts, solar energy production in the EU reached 99.4 terawatt-hours this summer, which is 28% more than last summer, when it was 77.7 terawatt-hours. From May to August this year, the EU generated 12.2% of its electricity from solar energy, which is 9% more than in the same period last year. The EU would have had to purchase an additional 20 billion cubic metres of fossil gas this summer if it were not for the record share of solar energy generated, the think tank points out. Based on daily gas prices from May to August, it has calculated that this translates into 29 billion euros in gas costs.
Which EU countries generate the most solar energy?
According to Ember data, eighteen European Union countries generated a record share of solar energy this summer. In ten member states, more than one-tenth of electricity was generated from solar panels.
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The highest share was observed in the Netherlands, where 23% of electricity generated came from solar energy, followed by Germany (19%) and Spain (17%). “As Europe is rocked by the gas crisis, solar energy provides a much-needed lifeline,” says Paweł Czyżak, Ember senior analyst. “Investments in solar capacity have paid off. Every terawatt-hour of solar energy helped reduce gas consumption, saving European citizens billions of euros.”
The 12.2% share of solar energy this summer exceeded the shares of wind (11.7%) and hydropower (11%) in the EU electricity mix. However, it still lags four percentage points behind the 16.5% use of coal.
What is being done to address Europe's energy crisis?
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has put forward several proposals to curb soaring prices. These include an EU-wide plan to reduce electricity consumption, a price cap on excess revenues from renewable and nuclear energy, a solidarity mechanism to capture the “huge” and “unexpected” profits made by fossil fuel companies, and a state aid programme to provide additional liquidity to utilities in difficulty. These proposals were considered by EU energy ministers, who met on 9 September to discuss how to ease the burden of soaring energy prices.