On March 8, the European Commission proposed an action plan to guarantee the energy independence of the European Union from Russian fossil fuels, before 2030. This strategy could benefit renewable energies, and in particular to hydrogen.
The conflict in Ukraine suddenly puts the question of energy independence back at the center of debate. Growing diplomatic and military tensions, combined with a new batch of economic sanctions against Moscow, are pushing Europe to open its eyes to its heavy dependence on Russian fossil fuels, particularly natural gas. To get out of this, and find the path to energy sovereignty, the Commission is working on several measures allowing it to absorb the rise in energy prices and to guarantee significant gas stocks for the winter of 2022–2023.
The Commission said the conflict in Ukraine had caused energy prices to surge “to unprecedented levels”. However, if the European Union still has sufficient gas stocks for the last weeks of winter, we must think about the following winter. Therefore, the Commission wishes to present a legislative proposal to make it compulsory to fill gas storage facilities to at least 90% of their capacity by 1 October each year. For the Commission, this system will guarantee “solidarity mechanisms between Member States”. She also insists on the fact that new infrastructure must be reserved for hydrogen.
But the Commission goes further. She wishes to develop the “REPowerEU plan” to strengthen the resilience of the European energy system.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “We must ensure our independence from Russian oil, coal and gas. We simply cannot depend on a supplier who openly threatens us. We must act now to mitigate the effects of rising energy prices, diversify our gas supply for next winter and accelerate the transition to clean energy. »
Executive Vice President for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, said: “The time has come to tackle our vulnerabilities and quickly become more independent in our energy choices. Let’s move on to renewable energy without further delay. Renewable energy is a cheap, clean and potentially unlimited source of energy and instead of funding the fossil fuel industry elsewhere, it creates jobs here. Putin’s war in Ukraine demonstrates the urgency of accelerating our transition to clean energy. »
The “REPowerEU plan” is based on the diversification of gas supplies through “an increase in LNG and pipeline imports from non-Russian suppliers”, by increasing the production and import volumes of biomethane and hydrogen, reducing the use of gas for domestic heating and electricity production, and the use of renewable energy and electrification. These measures should make it possible to “reduce the European Union’s demand for Russian gas by two thirds before the end of the year”, indicated the Commission.
For Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, “the sooner we move to renewable energies and hydrogen, while increasing energy efficiency, the sooner we will be truly independent and masters of our energy system”.
The Commission has also presented Member States with additional tools to regulate prices in exceptional circumstances. Furthermore, states “can redistribute revenues from high profits in the energy sector and from emissions trading to consumers”, which means that they will have the possibility of supporting, for example, businesses affected by energy price volatility.
“In a context where prices are likely to remain high for a long time, it seems necessary, as the European Commission suggests, to make the winners of the crisis contribute to this redistributive effort, by taxing the exceptional profits of certain energy producers,” indicated Andreas Rüdinger, expert in energy transition, associate researcher at the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations, before concluding: “Aid measures should be more targeted at the households and businesses most vulnerable to the increase in prices, in order to limit public costs and improve their social impact.
With the measures of the REPowerEU plan, the Commission hopes to reduce the use of fossil fuels by at least 155 billion cubic meters, i.e. the volume imported from Russia in 2021. Nearly two thirds of this reduction can be achieved within a period of ‘one year. The goal is to reach 5.6 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen in 2030.
