Source: Energy & Management Powernews, 09 March 2022
The EU Commission has discussed a ten-point plan in Strasbourg to accelerate the energy transition and make the EU less dependent on Russian fuels.
The Commission had already announced the strategy paper on the situation in the European energy markets in January. However, the consultation was postponed by a week because of Russia's incursion into Ukraine.
In Brussels, the goal of quickly becoming independent of Russian energy supplies has moved further up the political agenda. In doing so, the Commission is counting on reducing energy consumption and sourcing the remaining demand from other supplier countries.
By the end of September, gas storage facilities in the EU are to be filled up to 80%. It initially remained unclear whether this would require the suppliers or the network operators and how the storage would be financed. Negotiations on additional supplies are currently underway with producer countries in the Middle East - but also with their customers in Asia. They could cede their own claims from supply contracts to the Europeans.
In an "energy pact," EU member states are to commit to designating sites for wind farms and PV plants more quickly and to speeding up approval procedures for them. New projects should be promoted with revenues from emissions trading.
The Commission wants to present detailed recommendations and a "solar strategy" in the summer. Enough PV systems could be installed on rooftops in the EU alone to cover a quarter of electricity consumption. The solar strategy should also identify solutions to the current supply problems for solar cells and other components. The EU must master the entire value chain and improve its competitiveness in this technology, he said.
A portion of gas imports could be replaced in the medium term by the use of biogas. In Brussels, it is assumed that the production of biogas from sustainable biomass can be expanded to 35 billion cubic meters by 2030. Swift implementation of the energy transition proposals ("Fit for 55"), which are already being discussed by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament, could make an important contribution to greater independence from foreign energy suppliers. By 2030, "Fit for 55" is expected to lead to a 23% drop in gas consumption in the EU.
So far, the EU obtains around 40% of its gas imports from Russia. Because of the economy picking up after Corona and the looming crisis over Ukraine, energy prices had risen significantly in recent months. In Brussels, prices are expected to rise further if the EU is no longer supplied with Russian gas. This prospect has come closer in recent days. There are increasingly open calls in the EU to stop buying gas from Russia in order to put further financial pressure on the government in Moscow. Conversely, the Russian government has also threatened to stop deliveries via the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline. This pipeline can deliver 150 million cubic meters of gas a day.
Author: Tom Weingärtner