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EU renewables targets could cut natural gas demand by 2030
A research estimate says EU natural gas demand fell 8.8 bcm in 2024 from heat pumps and more solar and wind, and could drop around a quarter by end-2030 under stated rollout targets.
OilPrice reports that the European Union could significantly reduce LNG imports by 2030 if it meets its renewable energy and electrification installation goals, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
IEEFA estimates that heat pump deployment and increased solar and wind generation reduced EU natural gas demand by 8.8 bcm in 2024, which the institute says is equivalent to about two-thirds of the EU's imports of Qatari LNG that year.
The institute further estimates that achieving EU targets of installing at least 4 million heat pumps, 75 gigawatts (GW) of solar, and 22 GW of wind capacity annually over the next five years could slash gas demand by around a quarter by the end of 2030, excluding other gas-saving measures.
Ana Maria Jaller-Makarewicz, IEEFA’s lead energy analyst for Europe, said continued efforts to reduce gas consumption, improve energy efficiency, and expand renewables would reduce LNG and pipeline gas imports and make external energy crises less of a threat to energy security, OilPrice adds.
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