Renewables, a potential yet to be fulfilled

Rural areas have a key role in ensuring the success of the energy transition. Installing new ground-mounted photovoltaic systems in the countryside of Spain, Romania and France would cover a large part of the European Union's energy needs

There is vast untapped renewable energy potential in the European Union. This is stated in a recent publication  produced for the Rural Observatory of the European Commission.

The study, carried out by the Joint Research Center of the Commission itself, tried to estimate how much renewable energy could be produced in the EU territories, leaving aside the portions of territory occupied by forests and bodies of water, land with permanent crops, protected areas or areas with high biodiversity and agricultural land with high natural value. According to the study, renewable sources could produce around 12,500 terawatt hours (TWh) per year in Europe, including 11,000 TWh/year from solar sources (mainly ground-mounted photovoltaic systems), 1,400 TWh/year from onshore wind and 133 TWh/year from hydroelectric.

The potential that is currently not yet exploited is equal to 78% of the total energy produced by the EU in 2022, and higher than what is currently produced by fossil fuels. The potential is concentrated in the predominantly rural regions of the EU, and especially in southern European countries such as Spain, which could produce 2982 TWh/year, Romania with 2372, France with 1597, Portugal with 872 and Italy with 527.

The objectives of the energy transition

To limit and combat the effects of climate change, as stipulated in the European Green Deal, the EU aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, i.e. to have a zero carbon dioxide emissions balance by then.

To achieve these goals, the EU plans to significantly increase renewable energy production and improve energy efficiency, as power generation has historically been the sector that produces the most CO2 emissions. As late as 2022, energy sector emissions stood at more than a quarter (26%) of total carbon dioxide emitted within the EU.

Among the various measures adopted to proceed towards decarbonisation, in March 2023 the EU established a binding objective for which the production of renewable energy must be at least 42.5% of the total energy produced by 2030. This will to require a great effort, as in 2022 the total renewable energy produced in the EU was just 18%.

Among the member countries, only Estonia has produced more than half of its energy needs through renewable sources, reaching 63% of the total, and only three other member countries currently produce at least 42.5% of energy through renewable sources, i.e. Sweden with 48%, Latvia with 45% and Finland with 42.5%. Two member countries currently produce even less than 10% of their energy from renewable sources: Belgium with 9% and Malta with 2%.

How to exploit unexpressed potential

Although many member states are still behind the objectives set by the EU, the Joint Research Center study indicates that there is no shortage of potential for the energy transition. In particular, it seems possible to combine the green transition with economic growth in rural areas – an objective that the European Commission is trying to pursue through the EU's long-term vision for rural areas and its plan for “resilient rural areas”. ”.

This plan includes the financing of building renovations to increase energy efficiency and local production of renewable energy, fight energy poverty and stimulate local development, also thanks to the almost 120 billion Euros allocated by cohesion policy for environmentally oriented development projects in the 2021-2027 financing cycle.

Local conditions will determine what the most effective energy production technology will be for each rural area. Hydropower, for example, is suitable for mountainous regions with abundant water, solar power for areas with high solar irradiance, and onshore wind for regions with sufficient wind speeds. The installation of photovoltaic systems on the roofs of buildings, however, is recommended for areas with insufficient soil or wind.

An innovative tool identified by the EU to be able to accelerate the transition could be found in renewable energy communities, recognised in a recent European directive as communities based on the concept of local energy self-production and self-consumption. This type of initiative offers members of local communities the possibility of joining together to generate electricity through renewable sources, promoting energy efficiency and ensuring that local communities are self-sufficient in energy supply, significantly reduce environmental impact, and also attract investments for economic growth.