According to a study, more electricity from wind and solar power has saved the EU twelve billion euros on gas imports since the outbreak of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
“Thanks to growing capacity and favorable weather conditions, wind and solar energy have produced a record amount of EU electricity since the beginning of the war,” reads analysis by think tank Ember Climate released on Wednesday.
Advantage of renewable energy
According to the think tank, from March 2022 to the end of January the EU produced ten percent more wind and solar power than in the same period from 2021 to 2022. This means that more than a fifth (23 percent) of the electricity in the EU came from solar and wind power and proportionately more than ever before.
In total, an additional 50 terawatt hours of electricity were generated. According to the report, the EU would have had to import 90 terawatt hours of gas for the same amount, which would have cost twelve billion euros. According to the think tank, this is based on average prices from the period under investigation.
That’s the conclusion
According to the analysis, gas imports into the EU fell by five percent overall. Russian gas accounts for 16 percent of imports, up from 40 percent before the invasion of Ukraine. Replacing fossil fuels with wind and solar energy is the only way for the EU to “achieve sustainable energy security and independence,” the report concludes.
