FEDARENE Info 41 – Focus on European Energy Security

The winter edition of FEDARENE Info is here. With a focus on energy security of Europe, you will read about what regions and energy agencies can do to address the energy security challenge and how this problem affects the European economy and foreign relations.

Illustration : Photo by jwvein on Pixabay

Energy demand in Europe significantly surpasses its fossil fuel reserves and the EU is highly dependent on energy from outside the Union, importing 53% of all the energy it consumes. This leads to tackling various types of conflicts influencing secure fuel supply and prices. In order to minimize this issue, several measures have been implemented at the European Union and international levels through the European Foreign Affair and the European Economy interventions to secure a stable energy supply. Nevertheless, actions are to be taken to meet our energy demand locally with the Renewable Energy Sources we have at our disposal, through a bottom-up approach:

  • implementing energy efficiency measures locally;
  • raising the awareness on energy-related topics to change public opinion and user behaviour through initiative undertaken by local and regional energy agencies and authorities;
  • fostering projects based on renewable energy sources on small and medium-scale level (such as installation of solar thermal and PV collectors on people’s homes or local district heating network) mainly at the local level.

You will find in this 41st edition of FEDARENE Info:

  • an Edito by Julije DOMAC (President of FEDARENE and Managing Director of the North-West Croatia Regional Energy Agency – REGEA) which focuses on what regions and energy agencies can do to address the European energy security and to reserve the high energy dependency trend;
  • an interview with Andrej PLENKOVIC (Member of the European Parliament) which focuses on the implications of energy security in the European economy and the European foreign affairs;
  • articles by several FEDARENE members sharing the initiatives they have taken to tackle energy security issue in their territory, for example through the use of biogas that farmers, industries and local authorities can produce locally to supply village with heat and power; and biofuels that could serve as a replacement for imported oil;
  • a focus on FEDARENE key events and an update on of its ongoing EU projects.