EU to double-down on renewables and hydrogen, diversify to rid itself of Russian gas

Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal Frans Timmermans said, “It is time we tackled our vulnerabilities and rapidly become more independent in our energy choices. Let’s dash into renewable energy at lightning speed. Renewables are a cheap, clean, and potentially endless source of energy and instead of funding the fossil fuel industry elsewhere, they create jobs here. Putin’s war in Ukraine demonstrates the urgency of accelerating our clean energy transition.” 

Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson said, “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has aggravated the security of supply situation and driven energy prices to unprecedented levels. For the remaining weeks of this winter, Europe has sufficient amounts of gas, but we need to replenish our reserves urgently for next year.”

The Commission believes it is possible to phase out the EU’s dependence on fossil fuels from Russia well before 2030. To do so, the REPowerEU plan will increase the resilience of the EU-wide energy system based on two pillars: diversifying gas supplies, via higher LNG and pipeline imports from non-Russian suppliers, and larger volumes of biomethane and renewable hydrogen production and imports; and, reducing faster the use of fossil fuels, by boosting energy efficiency, increasing renewables and electrification, and addressing infrastructure bottlenecks.

In February 2022, Members of the European Parliament set out recommendations on ways to deploy offshore wind more quickly and stressed that meeting 2030 and 2050 targets for offshore renewables requires faster deployment of offshore wind. Clean electricity from offshore wind is also seen as a potential power source for the production of green hydrogen.

In November 2021, Mr Timmermans reiterated the EU’s commitment to a massive roll-out of offshore wind and said the European Union “has all that it needs” to meet the challenges set in the European Commission’s recently announced Offshore Renewables Strategy.

As highlighted by OWJ, the strategy proposes increasing Europe’s offshore wind capacity from its current level of 12 GW to at least 60 GW by 2030 and to 300 GW by 2050. The Commission aims to complement this with 40 GW of ocean energy and other emerging technologies such as floating wind and solar by 2050.

Speaking on 19 November, Mr Timmermans said, “Our strategy shows the urgency and opportunity of ramping up our investment in offshore renewables. With our vast sea basins and industrial leadership, the European Union has all that it needs to rise to the challenge.

“Already, offshore renewable energy is a true European success story. We aim to turn it into an even greater opportunity for clean energy, high-quality jobs, sustainable growth, and international competitiveness.”

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