Forecasting of the Share of Renewable Sources in the Total Final Energy Consumption for Selected European Union Countries

Abstract

The development of society requires stable access to electricity at an acceptable price. In order to meet the growing demand in the European Union countries, we are observing a dynamic development of the use of renewable sources in the energy balances of the Member States. The article presents the legal framework resulting from the newly adopted climate strategy, New Green Deal, and the conditions for the development of renewable sources in the process of transforming energy systems. The characteristics of selected energy balances of countries are also presented, which may constitute a knowledge base on the diversity of the Member States in terms of energy resources used, levels of independence and self-sufficiency of raw materials, as well as the levels of current electricity prices. Based on the available statistical data, the Eurostat database presents forecasts of the levels of renewable energy consumption in the 2030 time horizon for selected countries and according to the main types of renewable energy such as wind, solar energy, biofuels, geothermal energy, and hydropower. The statistical analyzes presented in the article are important tools for building a development strategy for the process of integrating energy markets within the European Union. The obtained results of the analyzes constitute a new approach to the study of the diversified energy market in the EU and present potential development scenarios for the surveyed countries.