Energy transition in Poland and Spain against changes in the EU energy and climate policy

Abstract

The European Union climate policy and the subsequent energy transition are expected to cause fundamental changes in individual EU countries, their economies, and industrial sectors. Furthermore, in order to achieve them, high financial outlays are essential. The main purpose of the article is to present a comparative analysis of the pace, directions, and main factors of the energy transition in Poland and Spain against the changes in the EU energy and climate policy. In particular, the subject of the study is the changes in the fuel structure of electricity generation (energy mix) and the changes in the concentration of energy generation. The analysis concentrates on Poland and Spain against the background of the group of EU27 countries. The study adopted a long-term perspective (1990–2020). The methodology used taxonomic measures of variability of structures and measures of concentration, as well as measures of descriptive and mathematical statistics. The result of the research proves that the EU common climate and energy policy has explicitly accelerated changes in the energy mix, both in the EU27 and in the studied countries, including those traditionally based on coal. The concentration analysis demonstrated an increase in diversification resulting in a significant increase in the share of renewable and low-carbon sources. The taxonomic analysis additionally proved that there was a parallel process towards making the energy mix of the studied countries more similar to the EU27. The limitation of the research is the adopted triangulation arrangement of the studied structures (EU27, EU15, countries that accessed the EU after 2004), enforced in this pilot research, but possible to expand the field of perception in subsequent research. What serves as a proof of the originality of the study is the fulfilment of research gaps in the long-term study of the degree of changes in the concentration of the energy mix structure of EU countries, and especially the study of the degree of intensity of its similarity. The application value of the study is its use in the energy policies of countries traditionally based on coal for the indication of the taken position, the goals, and ways to achieve them based on the experience of other countries.