European Energy Transition — System Change

Friends of the Earth Europe, the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, the European Renewable Energies Federation (EREF), and the Green European Foundation have recently published an ‘Energy Atlas’ (downloadable PDF). It’s a brilliant summary of facts and graphics on renewable energy in Europe, and a hopeful and confident glance at the European energy transition.

Among many other topics, the report looks into the generating capacity of individuals and communities, cities as testbeds for innovation, European electricity grid transformation, digital solutions and energy efficiency.

It concludes that stronger interconnections of markets and infrastructure across Europe will make the energy transition cheaper for all Europeans. It stresses the importance of energy efficiency, pointing out that Europe-wide we could reduce our energy demand by half by 2050. It predicts a switch away from centralized, monopolistic utilities to decentralized, community power projects and innovative business models. Framed by smart strategies and legislation, this system change can be driven by citizens and cities, leaving much more wealth in communities.