Econometric Analysis of the Influence of Factors on the Share of Energy From Renewable Sources in the EU

Abstract

The use of renewable energy is at the core of EU energy policy, reducing dependence on fossil fuels imported from non-EU countries, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and decoupling energy costs from oil prices. Currently, 22.5% of energy consumed in the EU comes from renewable sources. This increase over 2021 is due to strong growth in solar energy. This share is also increasing due to the consumption of non-renewable energy sources in 2022. According to expert forecasts, the share of renewable energy sources in Europe will continue to grow. Achieving the 42.5% target by 2030 will require a deep transformation of the European energy system. The very strong climate and energy policies pursued in the EU for about a dozen years and aimed at limiting emissions of harmful substances into the environment have led to a gradual abandonment of traditional energy sources. Increasing demand for energy while reducing its supply from traditional sources means that in order not to make the economy too dependent on energy imports, the dynamic development of renewable energy is necessary. The EU is therefore taking very extensive operational and strategic actions to use other sources for production, such as wind, solar energy, mechanical water energy, biomass and geothermal energy, as well as tidal waves, ocean heat, wave energy and sea currents. In this study, we assess the impact of energy, economic and environmental factors on the share of renewable energy in the EU. The aim of these studies was to identify the energy, economic and environmental indicators that have the greatest impact on the share of energy from renewable sources in the European Union. The study was conducted using the Statgraphics Centurion software package. The source data for the study was data from the official Eurostat website for the period from 2012 to 2022. The results of this study show that changes in gross domestic product in market prices per capita have a positive impact, as do changes in greenhouse gas emissions per capita negatively affect the share of energy from renewable sources in the EU in the period 2012-2022. This may most likely be due to the fact that EU countries are more likely to invest in renewable energy as they can afford to invest in the development of expensive renewable energy technologies and support subsidies for the promotion and regulation of renewable energy. The negative impact of per capita greenhouse gas emissions on renewable energy development is due to the high share of coal in the EU energy mix, meaning that coal not only has negative environmental impacts, but also negative environmental impacts. development of renewable energy.