Wind and solar growth cuts EU gas bill by €12bn since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

The report showed that in the 12 months since Russia invaded Ukraine, wind and solar energy produced 546TW/h of energy in EU countries, accounting for 23% of the bloc’s total electricity generation over the time period. 

That was an increase of 50TW/h, equivalent to a 10% rise over the same period in 2021-2022. 

The increased contribution of wind and solar meant they overtook the share of gas power (19%) in the EU’s energy mix for the first time, Ember noted.  

It also prevented a further €12 billion being spent on gas imports, according to the think tank’s calculations.

“The record wind and solar generation helped the EU weather challenging conditions in the power sector,” Ember stated.” Alongside the rush to replace Russian gas, nuclear and hydro generation suffered significant shortfalls across the EU last year in the wake of drought impacts and plant closures. This created a large gap in generation, much of which was met by wind and solar and a fall in demand as fossil fuel prices spiked.”

The report also found that without the record 546TW/h of energy generated by wind and solar since the invasion, the EU “could have required an additional 993TW/h or 94 billion cubic metres of gas to meet electricity demand over the time period. 

That figure would equate to gas costs of €135, the report suggested. 

The Ember study also confirmed the slump in EU imports of Russian gas amid deteriorating relations and sanctions imposed by EU countries on Russia since the invasion. 

The EU imported 330 billion cubic metres of gas in the year since the invasion. Only 16% of that figure came from Russia, however, down from the 40% of the EU’s imported gas in the previous year.