An increase in wind and solar power capacity saved the European Union billions of dollars that would otherwise have been spent on gas imports since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Clean power covered 24% of the EU’s energy needs between March and September this year, the highest ever for this six-month period, according to a study by think tanks E3G and Ember. The increase in wind and solar capacity over that period alone was equivalent to 8 billion cubic meters of avoided gas imports, or €11 billion ($10.75 billion) in avoided gas costs.
"There is a macroeconomic and a socioeconomic advantage to supporting higher renewable power targets,” said Artur Patuleia, the study’s co-author and a senior associate at E3G. "Renewables reduce the exposure to highly priced fossil fuels, which according to international agencies, are here to stay.”