BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 25. Europe’s progress is close to net-zero trajectory at mid-century, Trend reports with reference to Wood Mackenzie.
“Renewables contribute 66 percent to overall EU supply by 2030, exceeding the Fit-for-55 2030 target of 65 percent but falling short of REPowerEU target of 69 percent target. With 89 percent of power from renewables by 2050, Europe’s progress is close to a net-zero trajectory at mid-century – but the economy-wide goal remains very challenging. The unfolding policy landscape and high capture prices make wind and solar power investments extremely attractive in the 2020s,” reads the report released by Wood Mackenzie.
The report reveals that green hydrogen is a key focus, with REPowerEU targeting 10 MT of domestic production and 10 MT of imports by 2030.
“While we expect over 50 GW of electrolyser capacity by 2030, regional production (EU-27+UK) will reach only 3.6 MT by 2030. Hydrogen infrastructure and offtake demand are still in their infancy. Despite gas supply anxieties and high prices, coal phase-out plans remain in place – over half of Europe’s coal capacity (70 GW) will phase-out by 2030. If gas supply tightness escalates some short-term lifetime extensions for coal may be seen, but this will not change the fuels long-term trajectory. Heightened security concerns lessen the decline of nuclear in Europe; nuclear capacity will be 73 GW by 2050.
Unlike renewables and hydrogen, REPowerEU offers lukewarm support for energy storage. While the policy proposal carries no explicit targets for storage it does however acknowledge its crucial role in flexibility and energy security. We expect Europe’s energy storage market (excluding pumped hydro) to increase 14-fold in the next decade, passing 65 GW (174 GWh),” reads the report.
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