Renewable energy reaches a record 38% in Europe
Energy — di Rudi Bressa
Last April, more than a third of the electricity produced in Europe came from renewables. It had never happened before. But in Italy prices are among the highest.
Renewable energy reaches a record 38% in Europe
Last April, more than a third of the electricity produced in Europe came from renewables. It had never happened before. But in Italy prices are among the highest.
Hydroelectric, wind and solar photovoltaic power continue to grow and to eat into fossil fuels' share. And for the first time they have reached the record figure of 38 per cent of electricity produced from renewable sources in Europe. All of this at the expense of coal, gas and nuclear, which fell by three percentage points (from 33 to 30) and one percentage point (from 28 to 27) respectively. This is revealed by the European Energy Market Observatory, which a few days ago published its fourth report on the energy market.
April sets a record for renewables
The record was set last April, aided by the mild temperatures recorded across the continent. This implied moderate demand for electricity for heating, consequently helping to keep wholesale prices lower. By contrast, the June heatwave that hit southern and eastern areas caused electricity demand to spike, particularly residential demand. Between April and May 2018, electricity produced from renewable sources in the EU-28 exceeded 80 terawatt-hours (TWh), equivalent to twice the combined electricity consumption of Hungary and the Czech Republic.
Still too much coal
But the report also notes how Europe continues to import enormous quantities of coal. The figure cited is 34,100 Mt (megatonnes), virtually the same amount as in the same period of 2017 and slightly up on 2016. It is worth noting, however, that there has been an overall decline of 20 per cent compared to 2015, which is certainly not insignificant. The main suppliers are Russia (43 per cent), the United States (20%), Australia and Colombia (both at around 12 per cent).
In Italy prices remain among the highest
This was also highlighted recently by the international index that assesses the performance of various countries on energy matters, compiled by the World Energy Council: Italy dropped four places in terms of energy security precisely because of energy costs that are higher than those of its main international competitors. The European Observatory confirms this: after the United Kingdom (€60/MWh), Greece (€56/MWh) and Ireland (€55/MWh), Italy ranks fourth at €54/MWh.
Italy's contribution to European renewable energy production
Italy continues to rank among the leading countries in energy production from renewable sources, and has already met its 2020 climate targets. But to understand our country's contribution at European level a different calculation is needed. If we take total European electricity production, estimated at 3.10 million GWh (source: Eurostat) and extract the percentage accounted for by renewables (38 per cent), the result is approximately 1.18 million GWh of "green" electricity. If we then take Italy's electricity production (285,000 GWh, source: Terna) and calculate the share generated from renewable sources (approximately 30 per cent), the result is a production of approximately 85,600 GWh of electricity. Comparing the respective shares, it follows that Italy's contribution amounts to approximately 7 per cent of the total — a share that is certainly not negligible.