Reaching Energy Security in Europe through Renewables

Meeting 100% of Europe’s electricity needs through renewable energy by 2050 is possible – if we succeed in pooling the potential of Europe’s renewable energy sources. This will require cooperation between EU member states, as well as coherent policies and regulation at the European level. Both currently exist only in fragmented form as energy policy in Europe is still shaped mainly at the national level. The Heinrich Böll Foundation therefore asked a number of experts to take stock of European policy in the sectors most important for the transition to renewable energy, to identify the areas in which European cooperation has been inadequate to date, and to propose possible solutions.

The Heinrich Böll Foundation asked a number of experts to take stock of European policy in the sectors most important for the transition to renewable energy, to identify the areas in which European cooperation has been inadequate to date, and to propose possible solutions.

In this publication two Polish experts, Grzegorz Wiśniewski and Dr. Zbigniew Karaczun, consider how the collective use of renewable energies by European countries in electric power generation can improve energy security in Europe.

The authors try to define the concept of energy security and check how is it currently understood in Poland. They oppose the idea, that it can be achieved by a business-as-usual, centralised energy grid and propose to focus on localised production of energy.

European Union has a role to play in this process, as it needs to shift its mindset from atomic energy coordination to using renewables to boost job creation, technological innovation and research funding.