Faster switching to renewables, energy efficiency and savings, or joint gas purchases from new suppliers. These are the main components of the strategy published on Wednesday. The European Commission wants to end the EU’s dependence on energy imported from Russia in the coming years. The Commission reckons this transition will require an investment of almost €300 billion (€7.4 trillion) by 2030.
It plans to provide part of this money to the Member States under the emergency recovery fund. Another factor to be raised is increasing the sale of emission allowances. A total of 225 billion should be loans, and the rest direct subsidies.
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, EU leaders have tasked the Commission with preparing a detailed plan to move away from energy sources imported from Russia as quickly as possible. The aim is to get rid of dependence on insecure supplies and stop sending money to Moscow that President Vladimir Putin’s regime can use to finance the war.
Mandatory solar panels
The EU executive wants to increase the share of renewables in energy production to 45 percent by 2030, instead of the 40 percent planned so far, as part of the package unveiled.
This is to be achieved by doubling the capacity of solar power plants over the next three years, coupled, for example, with the mandatory installation of solar panels on all new public, commercial, and residential buildings. The number of heat pumps to be used also to be doubled.
The package also includes a proposal to increase energy efficiency significantly. While the EU has had to reduce energy consumption by nine percent by 2030 through greater efficiency, the Commission wants to set a new target of 13 percent.
Brussels is also counting on replacing some Russian gas with LNG purchases from the United States, Qatar, and other countries. It also wants to cover part of the consumption by increasing production and importing clean hydrogen.