Abstract
The global economic development is, to a great extent, dependent on access to large amounts of cheap energy sources. The growing social awareness of ecology and the enormous damage to the Earth’s ecosystem due to the production of energy from conventional sources have forced fundamental changes in the energy sector. Renewable energy is considered to be an opportunity for such changes. The current state of the art allows such changes to be made without restricting economic development. Therefore, activities related to the energy transition are being taken all over the world. The European Union has definitely managed to achieve the most tangible effects in this regard. This article presents the findings of the research aimed at presenting the current state of renewable energy in the European Union and analyzing the changes reported in this sector in the last decade. The research was carried out using a selected set of 11 indicators characterizing renewable energy in individual countries. These indicators were selected on the basis of literature review and own studies of the state of renewable energy and its development prospects. Based on these indicators, changes in the energy structure of individual European Union countries between 2008–2018 were determined. The study is divided into two main stages. The principal components analysis (PCA) was used for the first analysis. In turn, the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) was adopted to assess the level of renewable energy development in the European Union countries. Both these methods and the extended statistical analysis were applied to determine the state of renewable energy development in the European Union countries in the studied period and to divide the Member States into classes with different levels of development. The results of the study showed that the EU countries are characterized by significant differences in the development of RES during the period in question. The unquestionable leaders in this respect are Sweden, Austria, Finland, and Latvia. Based on the findings, it is possible to evaluate the effects of activities related to renewable energy development and to prepare assumptions for future activities. Additionally, both the research and its findings broaden the knowledge of the directions of renewable energy development in individual European Union countries. This is particularly important in the context of changes related to the need to reduce harmful substance emissions and the implementation of the European Green Deal idea.
Highlights
Introduction distributed under the terms andFor many decades, both industry and population growth have led to an increase in global energy consumption [1,2]
Both the research and its findings broaden the knowledge of the directions of renewable energy development in individual European Union countries
The results show that renewable energy sustainability in Germany, Great Britain, France, and Italy is at a higher level than in other studied countries
Summary
Introduction distributed under the terms andFor many decades, both industry and population growth have led to an increase in global energy consumption [1,2]. Especially cheaper sources, is one of the most important factors that influences the economic development of countries and social welfare as well as mitigates the effects of energy poverty [3]. Many countries have noticed that a modern energy system means a transition to non-carbon, renewable energy sources (RES) that enable further economic development without such a negative impact on the environment. Both RES and biofuels contribute to energy security through independence from fossil fuel markets and savings [6]. From the geopolitical point of view, the development of renewable energy is considered to have numerous advantages
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