Europe’s Energy Transition Price Tag

How much will it cost Europe to switch to clean energy by 2050?

Victoria Masterson, 27 April 2022 (Workd Economic Forum)

“…[The cost for Europe to switch] to clean energy by 2050 will be $5.3 trillion…[BloombergNEF (BNEF) European Energy Transition Outlook 2022 modeled] an “Economic Transition Scenario” in which] Europe’s use of fossil fuels drops by 28% by 2050. A collapse in coal use is the biggest contributor, while the rise of electric vehicles helps to cut oil demand by 30% by 2050…[N]atural gas demand falls by only 5%...because of “limited economic alternatives” to gas for heating buildings…[F]alls in gas demand will start to flatten out after 2030…

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Fossil fuels will continue to make up 60% of Europe’s energy mix by 2050 in this scenario – a relatively small reduction from 69% in 2022…[In a more ambitious “Net Zero Scenario” fossil fuels are] completely driven out by 2050. This is enabled by a switch to electrification and green hydrogen…Wind and solar become Europe’s main source of energy…They replace fossil fuels and remove energy-related carbon emissions…[through] a cut of more than 50% in oil demand…Europe would need to promote take-up of electric vehicles, heat pumps and electrified industrial processes…

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…Wind and solar made up 18% of Europe’s energy mix in 2021, but combined with battery storage this could reach 70% by 2035, BNEF’s Net Zero Scenario suggests…To be on track for this, Europe needs to double its solar and onshore wind power capacity by 2025, compared with 2016-20. And it will need to add another 60-80% on top of that between 2026 and 2030…In total, Europe needs $3.8 trillion of investment in new power generation projects – especially wind and solar – between 2021 and 2050…It also needs to spend $1.5 trillion over the same period on facilities to produce clean hydrogen…” click here for more

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