DG Energy Newsletter

On 13 February, the Commission proposed detailed rules to define what constitutes renewable hydrogen in the EU, with the adoption of two Delegated Acts required under the Renewable Energy Directive.

The meetings held on 3 February in Baku reaffirmed the strategic energy partnership between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the European Union.

On 1 February, the construction activities on the Bulgarian section of the gas interconnector Bulgaria-Serbia have been inaugurated. It is recognised as an EU Project of Common Interest.

On 19 January, EU countries agreed on new, ambitious long-term goals for the deployment of offshore renewable energy up to 2050 in each of the EU’s five sea basins, with intermediate objectives to be achieved by 2030 and 2040.

In its first meeting on 16 January, participants discussed the process of creating a consortium or consortia open to gas companies and gas consumers, with a view to jointly negotiating with international gas suppliers and securing better prices for European consumers.

The European Union has granted EUR 1.8 billion through its Innovation Fund to 16 innovative projects that will avoid about 125 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in the first 10 years of operation.

In absolute terms, the production of electricity from renewable energy sources increased by almost 5% from 2020 to 2021.

The share of gross final energy consumption from renewable sources at EU level reached 21.8% in 2021. Compared with 2020, this was a 0.3 percentage points decrease and the first decrease ever recorded.

The EU continues to largely rely on fossil fuels for its overall energy supply, as illustrated by the ratio of fossil fuels in gross available energy (the total energy demand of a country or region).

Energy for heating and cooling represents almost 50% of the EU’s total gross final energy consumption. In absolute terms, the gross final consumption of renewable energy for heating and cooling purposes in the EU has gradually increased over time.