By cutting gas supplies to multi-year lows, Russia has provoked an energy crisis in Europe. This, in turn, has led to a surge in the installation of new solar panels on rooftops. In 2022, the demand for installing solar home plants has grown more than 10 times. This was reported by Bloomberg with reference to the Minister of Protection and Environment of Spain Teresa Ribera.
According to her, the demand for solar panels has increased by 410% since 2018. The agency notes that the energy crisis has only fueled interest in solar panels from municipalities and households. The growth in installations was also helped by incentives from the authorities, which encouraged the installation of off-grid solar power plants, according to the local UNEF industry group. According to her calculations, in 2021, the consumption of solar energy in 2021 increased by 102%.
“It is important to take advantage of our rooftops and many hours of sun exposure, which can allow us to significantly reduce electricity consumption,” the minister said, noting that the authorities will increase the use of smooth surfaces for solar power generation.
The agency also notes that a similar trend is manifested on a pan-European scale: the European Commission expected that by increasing private solar panels it would be possible to reduce pan-European gas consumption in 2022 by 2.5 billion cubic meters, and the EC itself estimated the generation at 15 terawatt-hours. At the moment, Europe is experiencing difficulties with energy supply due to the cessation of Russian supplies.
On Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will present a new plan that is expected to help Europe survive the heating season without Russian gas. It is expected that the head of the EC will announce the introduction of new taxes on energy companies and introduce new measures to reduce consumption, in particular during peak hours.
