According to foreign media reports, the European Union will formulate a plan to digitize the energy system, which will be officially announced next week. The plan would require the EU to invest 565 billion euros (3.94 trillion yuan) in infrastructure by 2030 to achieve its green plan and end its dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
The document proposes a number of specific green action plans, including installing solar panels on the roofs of all commercial and public buildings in the EU by 2027, installing solar panels on all new residential buildings in the EU by 2029, installing 10 million heat pumps over the next five years, and putting 30 million zero-emission vehicles on the road by the end of 2030.
The plan is the latest move by the European Union to get rid of Russian natural gas and accelerate the transition to renewable energy. With increasing demand for electricity, the EU region will need a more flexible energy network to adapt to weather-sensitive solar and wind technologies and to deliver electricity to areas where it is more needed.
However, the document has not yet been officially released, and the specific amount and whereabouts of investment are still likely to change.
EU Energy Digitalization to establish a more efficient Energy system
The EU's "energy digitization" has not been proposed recently, but the recent surge in energy prices has accelerated the plan within the EU.
In July 2021, the European Commission launched the Action Plan on Digitalization of the Energy sector, which aims to promote the system-wide digitization of energy production, consumption and infrastructure in Europe. build a modern energy system that is electrified, more efficient, more flexible and more intelligent.
The EU expects that the digital transformation of the energy sector will help create jobs, enhance Europe's competitiveness and innovation, and open up new international markets for products and services. But it also brings new challenges, such as network security, data access regulation, data protection and privacy, and the growing energy consumption of the information technology sector. In response to the challenges, the EU has proposed five major actions, including: the development of an infrastructure for energy data sharing in Europe; the development of user-friendly data access and intelligent measurement applications; and the integration and innovation of energy and digital technologies; strengthen network security in the energy sector; and develop carbon neutralization solutions for the information and communications sector.
The accelerated process of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine
Energy prices in Europe rose sharply in February after Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine.
European natural gas prices have risen rapidly since the second quarter of this year, reaching a record level of nearly 300m per megawatt hour, according to Intercontinental Exchange Inc. Also because Europe relies mainly on natural gas for power generation, electricity prices in Europe quickly rose, with electricity prices in Britain, France and Germany climbing to record highs, nearly fivefold higher than last year.
The surge in energy prices has also directly led to a sharp rise in prices in the euro zone. Driven by a sharp rise in energy and food prices, the euro zone's coordinated CPI in August reached a record high of 9.1% year-on-year, according to data released by Eurostat. Among them, due to the soaring energy costs caused by the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, 3.95 percent of the year-on-year increase in CPI in August came from more expensive energy.
On March 8 this year, the European Commission issued a road map for energy independence, which aims to start with natural gas and get rid of its dependence on Russian energy imports by 2030. According to the action plan called "Joint Action on cheap, safe and Sustainable Energy in Europe", the EU plans to diversify its gas imports, accelerate the development of renewable natural gas, and reduce the use of natural gas in heating and power generation, thereby reducing its dependence on Russian natural gas imports. By the end of 2022, Gazprom imports will be reduced by 2/3. Facing the future, the EU will also take measures to accelerate the development of renewable energy, diversify energy supply and improve energy efficiency to reduce its dependence on Russian energy.
The European Union has arranged solar energy.
In May this year, the European Commission released the EU Solar Energy Strategy as part of the REPowerEU plan, which aims to achieve a solar photovoltaic installed capacity of more than 320GW (1 GW equals 1 million kilowatts) by 2025, more than double that of 2020 and nearly 600GW by 2030. Through this strategy, the EU hopes that the new photovoltaic capacity will offset 9 billion cubic meters of natural gas consumption per year by 2027. The strategy outlines a comprehensive vision for accelerating solar energy utilization and proposes a number of initiatives to overcome challenges in the short term.
The strategy report includes four key points, including:
I. Rapid promotion of large-scale deployment of photovoltaic power generation through the European Solar Roof Initiative
Solar photovoltaic is one of the cheapest sources of electricity. By the end of 2020, the installed capacity of solar photovoltaic in the European Union had reached 136 gigawatts, accounting for about 5% of the total power generation in the European Union. In order to achieve the EU's renewable energy target of 2030 and the goal of the REPowerEU plan, the EU will need to add an average of 45 gigawatts of installed capacity per year over the next decade.
Second, simplify the licensing process and expand the installation scale of solar devices in the public domain
Utility-scale solar installations are essential to replace fossil fuels at the required speed. In order to accelerate solar deployment, the following actions will be taken: (1) to promote the growth of solar installation scale through competitive bidding; (2) to create a pilot practice area dedicated to solar energy procurement. (3) to ensure the stability of the electricity market through the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and the Renewable Energy purchase Agreement (PPAs); (4) to propose a proposal for the rapid passage of renewable energy projects and a legislative proposal on licensing; (5) to shorten the licensing process in designated development areas and reuse previous industrial or mining land to deploy solar energy. (VI) promote the innovative use of solar energy deployment, such as photovoltaic agriculture, floating photovoltaic power generation and integration with transport infrastructure.
III. Establish a large-scale EU skills partnership covering the entire field of renewable energy
The EU solar photovoltaic industry created 357000 full-time (direct and indirect) jobs in 2020 and is expected to at least double that number by 2030, but there is a large shortage of skilled workers. Therefore, member States should analyse skills gaps in the solar sector and develop appropriate training programmes, taking into account the potential to increase women's participation. At the EU level, the EU will consider building a large-scale skills partnership for land-based renewable energy, including solar energy, as part of the REPowerEU programme. The EU will support member States in taking actions to support the retraining and skills upgrading of the labour force, as well as the transition of the labour market to growth industries such as solar energy. In order to promote the mobility of skilled personnel, the EU has put forward requirements for mutual certification schemes in member countries.
Fourth, establish the European Solar Photovoltaic Industry Alliance to ensure sustainable solar energy.
In 2020, the EU imported solar panels totaling 8 billion euros, 75% of which came from a single country. Expanding the EU's solar industrial chain, especially manufacturing, will help reduce the EU's dependence on other countries. At the same time, create jobs, increase the added value of products, and enhance industrial flexibility.
On June 8 this year, the European Parliament formally adopted the legislative proposal of the European Commission to stop the sale of new fuel vehicles in the European Union from 2035.The proposal also includes a number of requirements related to the auto industry, including a 55% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from cars in the European Union in 2030 compared with 2021 and a 100% reduction by 2035.
At the same time, more than 1 million charging stations will be built in Europe by 2025 and 3.5 million by 2030. In addition, a charging station must be installed every 60 km of the highway and a hydrogenation station must be installed every 150 km.
Volkswagen Group and Mercedes-Benz immediately expressed support for the new regulations after the EU's "fire ban" timetable was formally adopted. Among them, Volkswagen issued a series of statements on the legislation, calling it "ambitious but achievable" and noting that the regulation was "the only reasonable way to replace internal combustion engines ecologically, technologically and economically". Mercedes-Benz also praised the regulation, and the company's head of external relations told the media that Mercedes-Benz was ready to sell 100% of its electric vehicles by 2030.
The result of the vote of the European Parliament does not represent the adoption of the relevant law, and the ban order still needs the unanimous approval of the EU member states before the legislation can take effect. German Finance Minister Lindner said that there is still a market for fuel vehicles and that the ban on "the European Union will stop selling fuel vehicles from 2035" is wrong because automakers in other regions will continue to sell fuel vehicles. Lindner stressed that the German government will not agree to the EU bill.
Edit / lydia