A wind turbine is seen at dusk in Calmont, southwestern France on February 20, 2023. (AFP File Photo)
The European Union has saved €12 billion ($12.8 billion) in gas since Russia invaded Ukraine thanks to increased wind and solar energy generation, a report by the energy think tank Ember found.
"Boosted by growing capacity and favourable weather conditions, wind and solar produced a record level of EU electricity since the start of the war," the study read.
In the past 12 months, the EU produced 10% - or 50 terawatt-hours (TWh) - more wind and solar power than compared with the same period in 2021-22.
Ninety TWh of gas would have been needed to generate the 50 TWh of electricity which were replaced by renewable power. Importing these 90 TWh would have cost €12 billion, the report read.
Despite the savings, gas imports to the EU only decreased by 5%, according to Ember. Russian gas currently accounts for 16% of imports to the bloc, compared with 40% one year ago.
"At the year marker of Russia's devastating war in Ukraine, it remains critical that the EU rapidly expands solar and wind to attain permanent energy independence," said the study's lead author, Sarah Brown.
Replacing fossil fuels with wind and solar energy is the EU's only way "to achieve lasting energy security and independence," the report concluded.
