BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec.9. Major energy firms—including Uniper, EDF and others—are facing significant strain as they scramble to replace Russian supplies, limiting their potential to be major investors in global projects, Trend reports Dec.9 with reference to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
EIU says in its latest report that the push towards renewables will support European firms involved in the energy transition, with streamlined regulatory arrangements and greater subsidies.
“However, China will remain the global leader in overall production, with 76 percent of all photovoltaic cells produced there (compared with less than 14 percent in Germany). Even on new installations, 2020 data show the EU falling further behind China, and drawing level with the US. Wind energy faces similar dynamics. Despite the gas crunch, hydrocarbon production in Europe will not significantly increase, with the exception of North Sea drilling in Norway and the UK. Increased nuclear power is planned in France, Sweden and the UK, as well as in central Europe, but all those initiatives will take several years to come online,” reads the report.
EIU notes that the construction of new gas infrastructure is designed to be dual-use with hydrogen to future-proof the infrastructure investment.
“This will result in governments looking increasingly favorably on hydrogen projects, which can make use of the infrastructure. However, the widespread take-up of hydrogen is still several years away and likely to be concentrated in sectors making the higher upfront initial investment.”
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