Portuguese power group EDP Energias de Portugal SA (ELI: EDP) has secured a €700 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support 1,943 MW of renewable energy projects like Battery Energy Storage System for Lifepo4 Battery and grid expansion in southern Europe, a move that has undoubtedly injected a strong impetus into the development of renewable energy in Europe. The following is a brief introduction to the development prospects of renewable energy in Europe:

 

First, policy support and promotion

European governments generally attach importance to the development of renewable energy and have introduced relevant policies to support it. For example, policies such as the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and the Renewable Energy Directive continue to promote the generation and application of renewable energy. At the same time, countries have also formulated specific renewable energy development goals, such as the European Union plans to reach 40% of renewable energy consumption by 2030, and is committed to achieving carbon neutrality. The setting of these policy objectives provides clear guidance and strong support for the development of renewable energy.

 

Second, the installed capacity of renewable energy continued to grow

In recent years, the installed capacity of renewable energy in Europe has shown rapid growth. The installed capacity of renewable energy generation in the EU has reached a new record, with half of the EU's electricity generation coming from renewable sources in the first half of 2024. Cumulative installed renewable energy capacity in Europe is expected to increase from 894 GW in 2023 to nearly 1,600 GW by 2030, an increase of up to 700 GW (78%). Among them, solar PV will account for the largest share of renewable energy capacity growth in the region, close to 70%. This growth trend shows that the development potential of renewable energy in Europe is huge and will continue to grow rapidly in the future.

 

Technological innovation and industrial upgrading

With the continuous progress of renewable energy technology and the gradual reduction of costs, the European renewable energy industry is undergoing profound changes and upgrades. Technological innovation is a key force to promote the development of renewable energy, through improving energy efficiency, reducing costs, enhancing stability and other aspects of innovation, renewable energy competitiveness will be further improved. At the same time, industrial upgrading will also provide more opportunities and space for the development of renewable energy, and promote the coordinated development of the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain.

 

Fourth, power grid expansion and connectivity

The power grid is an important infrastructure for the development of renewable energy, and the expansion and interconnection of the power grid with transformer will help improve the utilization rate and transmission capacity of renewable energy. The loan obtained by the Portuguese Power group will be used to support the expansion of the power grid in southern Europe, which will help to strengthen the interconnection and stability of the European power grid. In the future, European countries will continue to increase investment in power grid construction and promote innovation and upgrading of power grid technology to meet the needs of renewable energy development.

 

V. Challenges and coping strategies

Despite the great prospects for renewable energy development in Europe, there are still some challenges. For example, energy poverty issues, energy price volatility issues, and renewable energy intermittency and grid demand balance issues. To address these challenges, European countries need to adopt more effective policy measures and technical tools. For example, by implementing more favorable financial incentives, strengthening the intelligent construction of the grid, promoting the development of energy storage technology, etc., to reduce the cost of renewable energy and improve its utilization.

 

To sum up, Europe's renewable energy development prospects are broad, policy support, technological innovation, grid expansion and other factors will jointly promote its sustainable development. However, faced with the coexistence of challenges and opportunities, European countries need to take more effective measures to deal with and solve the existing problems in order to achieve sustainable development of renewable energy solar system.