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EU saved €11 billion in gas imports thanks to solar and wind: report
(EurActiv, 19 Oct 2022) Renewable energies have allowed the European Union to avoid €99 billion in fossil gas imports since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, with an increase of €11 billion compared to last year thanks to record growth in wind and solar capacity, according to a new report.
Solar and wind power have produced a quarter of EU electricity since March 2022, allowing to avoid 70 bcm of gas imports, according to a new study carried out by think tanks E3G and Ember.
In turn, this also helped mitigate the reduction in hydroelectricity generation caused by droughts and a decline in nuclear production caused by maintenance and a series of failures in the French nuclear fleet.
“Wind and solar are already helping European citizens,” said Chris Rosslowe, senior analyst at Ember. “But the future potential is even greater,” he added.
Record rollout of renewables
Since March, 19 EU Member States have been achieving record wind and solar electricity generation, the study shows.
Among them, Poland is the country with the greatest percentage of year-on-year increase (+48.5% compared to 2021), while Spain registered the greatest absolute generation increase.
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EurActiv, 19 Oct 2022: EU saved €11 billion in gas imports thanks to solar and wind: report
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