Conference article

Costs and benefits of renewable energy use in electricity generation in the EU are assessed during low oil prices 1998-2002 and high oil prices 2003-2009. The EU statistical data is used. The renewable energy use in the EU was about 21% of the total energy inputs in 2008 and it was growing by 5% annual average during 2003-2008 compared to nearly nil growth of the fossil fuel input. During high and fast increasing oil prices; the correlations between the changes of consumers’ electricity prices and the growth of renewable energy use indicates that the large and growing use did not increase the prices but decreased the consumers’ electricity prices in several EU countries. An explanation is that the renewable energy enabled input diversification in electricity generation; which has reduced the costs. Consumers’ electricity prices are simulated in case these had followed the fossil fuel input costs and compared with the observed prices. It is found that high oil prices invoked substantial efficiency-increase and that the renewable energy input has been net beneficial to the EU citizens even when the periods of low and high fossil fuel prices are taken together.

Renewable energy; Electricity prices; Cost-benefit; Feed-in tariffs