Achieving energy security and energy independence through renewables in the EU

Abstract

53% percent of the energy consumed within the European Union is imported. In other words, more than half of the energy we consume to enable our societys modern life, has to be imported. Our computers, our phones, our elevators, our trading system run on energy, which the European Union imports. These imports from a few foreign states led to a high degree of dependency with a high price: Every day the European Union pays around one billion Euros for the imports. Regarding the background of always faster spinning geopolitics and a changing global hegemony, stakeholders, politicians and executives became aware of the importance of energy security and energy independence. Renewable energies became the core element to achieve these two targets, as their characteristics fit the dimensions of energy security and energy independence. Hence, legal framework within the European Union was created to achieve legally binding targets of a 20% share of RES of the final energy consumption within the European Union by 2020, and 32% by 2030. This master thesis tries to explain how renewable energies contribute positively to achieving these two targets as well as shedding light on the emerging challenges and potential problems, which might emerge when integrating renewable energies into the grid and the urge to adapt to the new category of technology. Firstly, renewable energies contribute to energy security and independency as their fuel is present everywhere although with varying potential within the European Union. Hence, with the deployment of the renewable energy sources within the European territory, the energy dependency would sink drastically. Secondly, renewable energy technologies bring an energy generation mix along, which creates a broader spectrum of energy sources, that creates stability. However, the main characteristics of renewable energy sources are a high degree of unpredictability and volatility. This is the Achilless heel to energy security. But with new and innovative technology, such as better forecast systems, real-time grid management and furthermore better transmission lines, this weakness-gap can be closed. Nowadays, the deployment of renewable energy sources is slowed down by long lasting legal processes. Experts urge stakeholders to draft a speeded-up process, to keep the pace of the energy transition high. This also includes fair mediation processes to balance out interests as well as one-step procedures.