Electric Power Industry in Europe

The main articles are:

• Economy of the European Union
• World power

Power in Europe

Power Germany

Main article: Power Germany

Power Finland

Main article: Power of Finland

Power of Lithuania

Main article: Power of Lithuania

Power Britain

Main article: Power Britain

Hydrogen Power

Main article: Hydrogen power

Electricity imports

• Black Sea Energy - a project of an underwater cable along the bottom of the Black Sea for the transmission of electricity from Azerbaijan.

2023

The share of renewable energy reached 46.5%. Leader - Denmark

The energy crisis of 2022 in Europe led to an accelerated abandonment of fossil raw materials and a new round of the introduction of alternative power, where the main emphasis is on solar energy due to cost and design features (speed of integration) in comparison with wind generation.

Further in the text, alternative power is solar, wind, geothermal and other energy, and renewable energy sources (RES) are hydropower + alternative sources.

In the structure of electricity generation in Europe (all countries with the exception of Russia and the CIS) from all sources, the share of alternative energy:

• in 1990 was 0.6%,
• in 1995 - 0.93%,
• in 2000 - 1.76%,
• in 2005 - 3.85%,
• in 2010 - 7.72%,
• in 2015 - 15.7%,
• before the energy crisis in 2021 - 23.4% and
• the strongest push of all time to 29.7% in 2023.

Based on electricity plans and energy policy reports in Europe, the target by 2030 is 40% of generation from alternative sources, but rather everything will be overcome earlier, Spydell Finance wrote.

The share of renewable energy in the structure of total power generation in 1990 - 16.3% (the effect of hydroelectric power plants), in 1995 - 18.2%, in 2000 - 18.8%, in 2005 - 18.3%, in 2010 - 23.8%, in 2015 - 31.7%, in 2021 - 39.6%, and in 2023 - 46.5%.

Nuclear energy is the most environmentally friendly and efficient in terms of efficiency. Renewable energy + nuclear energy in European countries formed 44.1% in 1990, after 5 years - 48%, in 2000 - 47.8%, in 2005 - 46.3%, in 2010 - 49.1%, in 2015 - 56%, in 2021 - 61.4%, and in 2023 almost 2/3.

Excluding alternative power, the last 15 years have been a shift towards fossil fuel generation (hydro and atom lost share, and gas TPPs increased), but from 2021 the trend is changing sharply.

How does Europe abandon fossil raw materials and switch to green power?

In 2023, Europe's electricity demand is 3800 TVt·ch compared to 4041 TVt·ch in 2021 (close to the historical maximum of 4087 TVt·ch in 2008) - the forced increase in energy efficiency, the forced withdrawal of energy-intensive enterprises from the European circuit and strict energy consumption standards, which were in effect in 2022-2023.

The proportion in European power generation is as follows:

• alternative sources of 1131 TVt·ch (29.7%),
• NPP - 736 TVt·ch (19.3%),
• hydrostations - 639 TVt·ch (16.8%),
• gas TPP - 637 TVt·ch (16.7%),
• coal TPP - 530 TVt·ch (13.9%),
• using oil - 53 TVt·ch (1.4%),
• other - 80 TVt·ch (2.1%) - statistical errors and heat obtained from chemical sources, combustion of solid and industrial waste.

Generation from alternative sources in 2018 overtook gas TPPs, 2019 overtook coal TPPs, and 2020 overtook nuclear power plants, leaving the gap, being in a confident first place.

RES cannot be brought to 100%, since balancing power is needed, given the uneven generation of energy from RES and the impossibility of effective synchronization with peak periods. TPP represents flexible reserve power and quickly replaces gaps in generation if accumulators or pumped storage plants do not cope, and there are no NPPs.

No less interesting is the information on the share of alternative sources in electricity generation.

The absolute leader is Denmark - 88% of alternative sources in the total generation vs 45.9% in 2013,

• and among major countries, Britain - 45.4 vs 13.5% (the fastest progress),
• Germany - 49.2 vs 20.2%,
• France - 16.2 vs 4.7%,
• Italy - 28.3 vs 20.4%,
• Spain 41.3 vs 26%,
• Netherlands - 47.5 vs 12%,
• Portugal - 45.1 vs 30.5%.

It is worth highlighting separately Britain, which has increased energy production from alternative sources by 7.6 percentage points in two years from 2021, and Germany has increased by 12.8 percentage points - shock and ultra-fast integration of green power.

The rise of Chinese solar panel installations and the decline in their production in the EU

The release of solar panels in Europe is in the deepest crisis in the past decade, as fierce competition from China undermines local production in the sector, making the continent's hopes for greater energy independence even more unrealizable.

Chinese imports reduce prices and allow a record increase in the number of installations. The fallout includes the possible closure of a factory in Germany.

Electricity generation shrank to 1997 levels

By November 2023, electricity generation in the EU is literally 1% of the minimum COVID-19 crisis in 2020 and somewhere at the level of 1997.

Average delay in construction of NPP power units - 4 years

Sharp decline in energy demand due to the shutdown of heavy industry

The drop in demand for electricity in Europe will not end, the IEA reported in July 2023. Demand for it seems to fall to the lowest level in more than 20 years, as the reduction in industrial production becomes constant.

High energy prices have brought heavy industry to a standstill across the continent, leading to a significant decline in demand in the first half of 2023. The agency also warned of an increase in load on power systems due to the need to cool buildings during a period of sharp rise in summer temperatures.

"The competitiveness of the European energy-intensive industry is at risk due to the high cost of energy," the IEA report said. "There is no easy way forward."

Sun and wind completely cover Belgium's electricity demand for the first time

At the end of May 2023, Elia, the Belgian operator of high-voltage power lines, announced that the country was able to cover all its energy costs for the first time with solar and wind plants. Read more here.

The EU is building energy hubs in the sea to provide itself with electricity

In early March 2023, energy company Elia announced the construction of an artificial island in the North Sea, which will serve as an energy hub. The island will be equipped with all the necessary infrastructure for self-sufficiency with electricity, and it will also extract wind energy, it will also be connected to the power grids of neighboring countries. Read more here.

European authorities in 1.5 years allocated €792 billion to fight energy crisis after refusing fuel from Russia

In mid-February 2023, it became known that since September 2021, the European Union authorities have collectively allocated about €792 billion to help households and local companies in connection with the energy crisis.

According to the estimates of the Brussels research organization Bruegel, the EU countries spent €681 billion to combat the energy crisis, while Great Britain they allocated €103 billion, Norway and €8.1 billion from September 2021. The total amount of spending on the fight against the energy crisis reached €792 billion, while in November 2022 this figure, according to Bruegel, was €706 billion. The increase came as the Eurozone continued to grapple with the effects of halting most gas supplies to Russia Europe in the winter.

Germany topped the spending table, allocating almost €270 billion - an amount exceeding all other countries. Great Britain, Italy France and were the next largest expenses, although each of them spent less than €150 billion. Most EU countries spent only a small part of this amount. At the same time GDP , Slovakia is in first place in terms of the percentage of allocated funds, which turned out to be ready to spend 9.3% on protecting the population and firms from high electricity prices. Germany, on the other hand, allocated an amount equivalent to 7.5% of GDP for these needs.

Per capita, Luxembourg, Denmark and Germany spent the most.

The power spending update comes as countries debate EU proposals to further loosen state aid rules for green technology projects as Europe seeks to compete with subsidies in the US and China. The Bruegel document notes that European governments have directed most of the aid to non-targeted measures to reduce retail energy prices, such as reducing VAT on gasoline or limiting retail electricity prices.^[1]

2022

EU gets more energy from renewable sources than from burning gas

In 2022, wind and solar together produced more electricity in the EU for the first time than coal and even gas. Information about this was published at the end of January 2023 by the think tank Ember.

Wind and solar installations produced 22% of the EU's electricity in 2022, while gas produced only 20%, according to the study. The report notes that the increase in electricity production from renewable sources avoided gas costs of €10 billion euros.

The use of coal, the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel, rose 1.5% in 2022 to produce 16% of European electricity, but that growth was short-lived with thermal power generation having declined markedly since August 2022.

Hydroelectric and nuclear power generation, which occupies a large share of electricity in the EU, fell to its lowest level since 2002. Dry conditions, across much of Europe's continent, have caused water levels in rivers to drop, reducing hydroelectric power generation and nuclear reactors to be disconnected from the grid, some for maintenance and others permanently due to low HPP margins.

The largest increase in renewable energy sources in 2022 was observed in solar power, which grew by 24%, providing an additional 39 terawatt-hours of electricity compared to 2021. At least 20 EU countries have reached a record share of solar generation.

In 2022, demand for electricity decreased, and since October 2022 it has fallen by 7.9% compared to the same period in 2021, Ember attributes such a drop to warmer weather, problems of electricity availability and energy-saving behavior of Europeans.

Ember predicts that in 2023 the carbon intensity of electricity in the EU will decrease even more as nuclear power plants resume operation and wind and solar power plants continue their development. Analysts predict a 20% decline in fossil fuel power generation in 2023.

The company said that in January 2023 alone, the use of fossil fuels decreased by 29%. Ember expects coal and gas use to decline further during 2023 as analysts found that the EU used only a third of the 22 million tons of additional coal it imported to insure against factors such as closing nuclear reactors and cutting off natural gas supplies from Russia. Analysts concluded that EU countries remain as adherents to phasing out coal as they were before Russia's special military operation in Ukraine began at the end of February 2022.^[2]

Rise in electricity prices due to pressure on Russia

European households pay more for electricity and natural gas than ever, even as governments spend billions to protect consumers from the energy crisis.

Retail natural gas prices in October 2022 are twice the level of October 2021. Household electricity costs soared 67% to 36 euro cents per kilowatt-hour.

On a monthly basis, the average specific tariff for electricity in October increased by 3.4%, and for gas - by 2.5%. The biggest monthly gain was recorded in Dublin, where electricity rates rose 44%, while the average price of gas in Rome soared 97%.

from

Structure of power generation: NPP, gas, wind

Growth in debt of energy and utilities companies exceeded 1.7 trillion euros due to rising prices for gas and oil

The combined debt of European energy and utilities companies exceeded the 1.7 trillion euro mark, as enterprises must take loans to cover the costs associated with rising gas and oil prices.

According to Bloomberg, in the first six months of 2022, energy companies in the region attracted 45 billion euros of bonds and 72 billion euros of loans.

2021

Largest energy crisis in EU history

The European Union is racing in all pairs to the strongest energy crisis in its history, which promises the European economy a further acceleration of inflation and a full-fledged industrial recession.

Electricity prices in France and Germany updated historical records following gas quotes, which on December 21, 2021 for the first time in history climbed above $2000 per thousand cubic meters. Having soared 22% per day and 89% since the beginning of December, January gas futures closed trading on the ICE exchange at $2,100 after Gazprom stopped pumping through the Yamal-Europe pipeline, leaving Germany alone with the upcoming cold and record low reserves in UGS.

However, the cost of electricity is growing faster than gas. In Germany, the cost of a megawatt-hour soared 30% in a day and 114% since the beginning of the month, to a record 428 euros. Factories and factories are not able to afford electricity. Thus, in Germany in November, the growth rate of producer prices reached 19.1% year-on-year and became a record since 1951.

The gas market does not expect a significant decrease in prices even in the summer: gas futures for May and June cost more than $1000 per thousand cubic meters.

Shutdown of several power companies due to the rise in gas prices

Due to rising energy prices, British and German companies are experiencing problems. The shutdown in September 2021 was announced by Avro Energy and Green Supplier. Avro served about 580,000 UK customers, Green about 250,000 customers. At the same time, the total number of households in the UK affected by the wave of bankruptcies of energy companies approached 1.5 million. As Green Supplier explained, "current market conditions are unprecedented":

"Record wholesale energy prices are driving energy costs above the cap. This means that Green, like all other energy suppliers, sells energy to consumers at a loss. "

Deutsche Energiepool, a German company specializing in the supply of gas for industrial enterprises, has terminated contracts with its customers due to a significant increase in prices in the market. This is stated in a statement issued on Friday by the company. "Energy prices in Germany, as in almost all of Europe, are rising. Over the past few months, purchase prices for natural gas and electricity in the market have tripled, and prices for short-term purchases have increased by about five times, "the message says.

At the same time, it is indicated that earlier the spot price for gas was 4.80 euros per 1 MWh. As of September 20, as noted in the message, it reached 75.04 euros per MWh. At the same time, the company believes that prices for natural gas will continue to rise, since European gas storage facilities are practically empty.

In addition, as emphasized in Deutsche Energiepool, the company's own purchase prices have risen by about three times. Among other things, there are restrictions on the volume of purchases. "This is a condition that we can no longer meet commercially because of economic unreasonableness. Therefore, we were forced to terminate many of the contracts we concluded, "the statement states.

2020

Average energy consumption per capita

and

Water, wind and sun bypass coal and gas in EU electricity industry for first time

In 2020, for the first time in history, the share of renewable energy sources (wind, sun, water) in electricity generation in Europe exceeded the share of fossil fuels (coal and natural gas) - 38% versus 37%, respectively. This is evidenced by the data of the report of the British analytical center Ember and the German institute Agora Energiewende.

The changes are caused by the accelerated development of wind and solar power, the performance of which has almost doubled since 2015. In addition, according to experts, the process of abandoning coal in Europe is accelerating. The share of coal has decreased in all countries where this type of fuel is used (gas - in nine EU countries). In the EU as a whole, since 2016, the share of coal has halved and in 2020 amounted to 13%. Energy production based on non-renewable resources as a whole in the European Union fell by 20%.

The production of electricity from natural gas decreased by 4%. The report indicates that low gas prices and higher prices for air emissions certificates contributed to the retention of positions CO2. This encouraged energy companies to use blue fuel more actively: it emits significantly less greenhouse gases when burned than coal.

According to the study, the highest shares of wind and solar power generation in 2020 were recorded in Denmark (61%), Ireland (35%), Germany (33%) and Spain (29%).

WindEurope experts call Europe the world leader in the field of wind power. In 2020, 11.6% of all EU electricity needs were provided by installations using wind energy, and on some days wind farms covered more than 100% of the needs of individual member states of the bloc.

Power generation at nuclear power plants fell by 10% in 2020. It was the biggest decline since 1990 and possibly ever, the researchers note.^[3]

Notes