Wind turbines and solar panels in a field in the Maritime Seine department of Normandy, France, on Monday, January 24, 2022. Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Photographer: Nathan Laine / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Europe dependent on natural gas from Russia gave Vladimir Putin leverage over the European Union, making the imposition of energy sanctions on the country a punishment for Invasion of Ukraine.
However, phasing out Russian natural gas will be difficult to do quickly. That is both because the EU is too dependent on the EU and because the EU has committed to limiting greenhouse gas emissions.
The EU imported 155 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia in 2021, accounting for almost half (45%) of the gas the EU imports and almost 40% of the total gas it uses. Switching from burning natural gas to burning coal is a technically feasible quick fix, but it will not help the EU meet its climate goals.
The International Energy Agency (IEA), an energy policy organization with members from 31 national governmentsbelieve it has a better way.
The organization recently launched a plan for Europe to reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas by a third in a year while remaining compliant. European Green Dealan EU agreement to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% from 1990 levels by 2030.
The The IEA Decline, aptly named The “10-point plan to reduce the European Union’s dependence on Russian natural gas”, is a set of actions that will diversify Europe’s energy supplies, accelerating progress towards renewable energy and focus on energy efficiency.
“No one is under any illusions anymore. Russia’s use of its natural gas resources as an economic and political weapon shows that Europe needs to act quickly to be ready to face significant uncertainty.” about Russia’s gas supplies next winter,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. written notice of the plan.
Here is a summary of the ten proposals:
No renewal of gas supply contracts with Russia. Currently, the European Union has a contract with Gazprom, a Russian state-owned multinational energy corporation, that imports more than 15 billion cubic meters of gas per year. That contract will expire at the end of 2022. The EU should let that contract and other gas import contracts expire.
Replace expired natural gas from Russia with new natural gas contracts from other sources. Domestic production of natural gas and imports from non-Russian sources, including from Azerbaijan and Norway, is expected to increase next year by up to 10 billion cubic meters compared to 2021, which will help with this problem. However, the IEA also said that the EU should increase imports liquid natural gas (LNG)is natural gas that has been cooled to a liquid state at about -260°F so that it can be more easily transported on ships or trucks.
The IEA also recommends that the EU increase biogas and biomethane supplies, but these supply chains take time to develop. So with the low carbon “green” hydrogen supply chain generated by electrolysis.
Store more gas. Gas storage gives any region a buffer of security in the event of a change of seasons, extreme events, or in this case war. The IEA will have active storage capacity filled at 90% by October 1 to keep homes warm during the winter.
Accelerate the deployment of renewable energy, such as wind and solar. In 2022, the EU is expected to see a 15% increase in electricity supplied from renewables compared to 2021 due to the active addition of new wind and solar facilities as well as new models. good weather. The IEA recommends accelerating on-going renewable projects by addressing licensing delays. This will require more administrative staff, clear communication between the different licensing offices, setting clear deadlines, and making applications digital.
Maintain existing nuclear status and operate bioenergy plants at maximum scale. Some of the existing nuclear reactors in Europe have been brought offline in 2021 for maintenance and safety checks, but when those power plants are back up and running in 2022, that will be. complement the EU’s clean energy production. Nuclear power plants, once they are built, will generate energy without emitting any greenhouse gases. In addition, commercial levels of nuclear energy are expected to begin at the new Finnish nuclear plant in 2022, which will support EU energy targets.
A handful of nuclear power reactors are already set to go offline in 2022 and 2023, but if those continue to operate that will reduce EU demand for gas. Russian nature.
In addition, bioenergy power plants operating at only 50% of capacity need to be fully fueled and operated at full capacity.
Protect vulnerable customers. When energy prices are high, energy companies do well, but customers can be in trouble. The EU should be prepared to help low-income customers pay their high energy bills. One way to account for the current high energy price market is to impose a temporary tax on excessive profits from energy companies and use the proceeds to pay energy bills for customers with low income.
Accelerate the replacement of gas boilers with heat pumps. The IEA calls on the EU to speed up the replacement of gas furnaces with domestic heat pumps.
Doubling the home heat pump installation rate will cost EU$16.3 billion (€15 billion) and it will save an additional 2 billion cubic meters of gas in the first year. Ideally, the IEA said it would be ideal to increase energy efficiency projects in homes at the same time.
Accelerate energy efficiency programs for industrial buildings and facilities. Currently, about 1% of EU buildings are retrofitted to be more energy efficient each year. Improving the energy efficiency of buildings works but it is happening very slowly. To maximize the impact here, the EU should focus on improving the energy efficiency of homes and non-residential buildings that are the least energy efficient.
In addition, the IEA recommends accelerating the installation of smart thermostats to reduce energy requirements. For example, adoption could be accelerated by providing subsidies to households to install one.
Ask the public to reduce their heat. Most buildings average close to 72 degrees Fahrenheit in the EU, and asking consumers to lower their temperatures by 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1 degree Celsius, has the potential to reduce gas demand by 10 billion cubic meters.
Strengthen the low emission grid reliability mechanism. The IEA recommends that the EU focus on increasing grid flexibility both in terms of resilience to seasonal changes and being able to handle short-term demand spikes. Currently, the EU manages ebbs and flows in the electricity grid demand by stored natural gas.
Improving grid reliability and flexibility in the future will depend on a diverse portfolio of responses, including battery technology and other large-scale, long-term energy storage technologies. Some of the low carbon gases produced in the EU such as biomethane, low carbon hydrogen and synthetic methane could be part of improving grid reliability, but they will not be enough.
Remarkably, the IEA’s plan pales in comparison to news of another plan reported from the EU on Tuesday, which will cut Russia’s natural gas imports by 80% next year.
