European energy ministers are meeting in Budapest on Monday 15 and Tuesday 16 July for their informal meeting under the Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council, chaired by the Hungarian Energy Minister, Csaba Lantos, to discuss a number of issues that are priorities for Hungary in terms of European energy policy, such as the deployment of geothermal energy as a sustainable solution for electricity production, heating and cooling (see EUROPE 13443/9).
According to a detailed agenda for the meeting, seen by Agence Europe, the first thematic session on Tuesday 16 July is devoted exclusively to this technique, which aims to harness the heat produced by the earth’s crust and accounting for 0.5% of the global renewable electricity market in 2022.
Ministers will attend a presentation by the European Geothermal Energy Council or EGEC, share their contributions in this area and discuss the initial conclusions of the Hungarian Presidency.
In a working document seen by Agence Europe (see EUROPE 13446/15), the Hungarian Presidency invites European ministers to decide on the measures needed to improve the commercial viability of investments in geothermal energy, as well as the obstacles to mobilising private capital and those linked to access to local geological data and public acceptance.
Today, Italy is the world’s leading producer of electricity from geothermal energy. France, Germany, Portugal, Croatia, Austria and Hungary also produce it, but at considerably lower rates.
The aim of the Hungarian Presidency is to complete its mandate with the adoption of conclusions on the promotion of geothermal energy at the Energy Council on 16 December 2024.
NECPs. The second session of the morning is devoted to the role of National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) and the implementation of the 2030 energy legislative framework.
The final version of these plans was due on 30 June 2024 (see EUROPE 13443/5), but, so far, only six Member States (Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden) have submitted their final NECPs.
The latest country to do so, on 10 July, was France, which ended up setting a target for final renewable energy consumption of 570 terawatt hours (TWh). After calculation, this would correspond to a 41.3% share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption (see EUROPE 13283/21), below the 44% set by the European Commission.
Ministers will discuss these issues in the presence of the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, and the Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, Thomas Östros.
Competitiveness. Looking at climate and energy policies through the prism of the European economy and competitiveness (see EUROPE 13452/1), the Hungarian Presidency is devoting its working lunch on Tuesday 16 July to the contribution of the energy sector to the “new competitiveness pact”.
It is using as a basis the study and recommendations of the European business association BusinessEurope - which will be presented by its Director General, Markus Beyrer - underlining the need for massive development of renewable energy to make a successful transition to carbon neutrality by 2050 and ensure the EU’s competitiveness (see EUROPE 13446/16).
This development of renewable energy - if it is free of any obstacles, particularly in terms of interconnections - could reduce electricity prices on the wholesale market by almost 40%, according to BusinessEurope.
The study also indicates that electricity will become the largest final energy carrier in the EU by 2050, but the energy mix will have to rely more on hydrogen, biomass and biomethane.
Networks. The Hungarian Presidency has also undertaken to continue the work initiated by the Belgian Presidency on electricity networks (see EUROPE 13420/1).
It is therefore devoting its very last thematic session to the importance of an electricity system that is “resilient, flexible and integrated as the key to decarbonising the economy”, with the participation of the Director of the European Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), Christian Zinglersen, and the President of Eurelectric, Leonhard Birnbaum.
Before opening these discussions, ministers were welcomed by State Secretary Attila Steiner on the afternoon of Monday 15 July. They began their meeting in Budapest with a study visit to the operational geothermal borehole in Tököl, followed by an informal dinner. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)