The “Energy Outlook 2021” report, published by ING, predicts a year in which European solar and wind energy will grow by 8% and 13% respectively with the installation of another 35GW of green energy

Starting the new year with good intentions is part of our traditional way of greeting a new course. However, many times these good wishes end up quickly buried by the evolution of day to day life, being irremediably forgotten in our memory. This is something that the European renewable energy sector seems to want to banish for 2021, and the new course starts with more than optimistic forecasts regarding growth in investments in solar and wind energy.

According to the report “Energy Outlook 2021“, recently published by the financial institution ING, 2021 will be a year of solid growth for the solar and wind energy industry, which will accumulate 8% and 13% growth in the old continent. This is why investment in energy transformation appears to be one of the two major pillars of economic recovery that the European Union has set for itself to combat the major scars caused by the health, social and economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which still seems far from over.

How is this growth in solar and wind energy distributed?

Thus, according to the report, up to 35GW of this types of clean energy would be connected to the European system, something that will require an approximate investment of 60 billion euros to carry out. Among the figures, the 13 GW of onshore wind power, the 12 GW of small-scale solar projects, the 8 GW of large-scale solar projects and the 2 GW of offshore wind power stand out. These encouraging figures are added to the macroeconomic figures, where the eurozone is expected to grow by 3.5%, which will translate into an increase in energy demand of up to 3% for countries. While this demand could skyrocket to between 4% and 5% if, in the best-case scenario, vaccine availability increases above expectations, which in turn would lead to economic growth close to 6%. The opposite scenario to the most hopeless, with a booming pandemic that could translate into a -0.5% contraction of the European economy.

On the other hand, the report provides significant information regarding the dependence of some countries on wind and solar energy. Both the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Ireland base up to a third of their electricity generation capacity on these two green technologies, making them the nations most dependent on this type of energy in the entire European Union.

The Green Deal, a firm step towards achieving climate neutrality through investment in renewables and the electricity grid

Last December, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, presented an ambitious plan to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. This plan, called the European Green Deal, was given the green light last week in a vote by the European Parliament that was passed with 482 votes to in favor, 136 against and 95 abstentions. This approval sets, as an “intermediate goal”, the year 2030, by which emissions will have had to be reduced by at least 55% compared to the emissions measurements obtained in 1990 in the territory of the European Union.

The basis of this Green Deal is that of socio-economic growth based on the change of the European energy model. As the European Commission itself reports on its website, the European Green Deal “must allow European companies and citizens to benefit from a sustainable ecological transition.” To this end, the European institutions propose a series of actions that range “from an ambitious reduction in emissions to investment in cutting-edge research and innovation, in order to preserve Europe’s natural environment.” To achieve this, the European executive has focused its climate plan on setting several more ambitious goals for energy efficiency and renewable energy, establishing benchmarks for each member state to achieve.

Thus, the European Union aims to tackle climate change. According to its figures, 93% of Europeans consider this a “serious” problem; 93% of those citizens have taken at least one action to combat it; and 79% of citizens agree that it will serve as an opportunity to foster technological innovation.