By Agnes Szucs
BRUSSELS (AA) - The European Commission on Tuesday proposed a plan to replace two-thirds of Russian gas imports by the end of this year.
The new strategy, called REPowerEU, aims to accelerate the bloc’s energy transition to renewables and to diversify gas supplies in order to cut dependence on Russian imports.
“By the end of this year, we can replace 100 billion cubic meters (BCM) of gas imports from Russia which is two-thirds of what we import from them,” Frans Timmermans, the European Commission’s executive vice-president said at a news conference.
The strategy significantly speeds up the EU’s energy transition strategy that originally aimed to phase out around the same amount of non-renewables by 2030.
Timmermans pointed out that “it is abundantly clear that we are too dependent on Russia for our energy needs”, and said that the bloc’s energy security is threatened by Russia’s “willingness to manipulate” the market and the recent developments in Ukraine.
According to the plan, the EU will replace around 60 BCM Russian gas with liquified natural gas (LNG) in the upcoming 12 months and will support alternative gas production, such as biomethane and hydrogen.
The European Commission estimates that 18 BCM of Russian gas can be replaced by biomethane, and another 50 BCM by hydrogen.
The EU will also strongly encourage the green energy transition in the next five years, by supporting homes, businesses, and farms to install solar panels and heat pumps, Timmermans added.
“By the end of this year, almost 25% of Europe's current electricity production could come from solar energy,” he stated.
With the new plan, the European Commission also proposes a joint procurement of gas and calls on EU member states to fill up their gas reserves to 90% by Oct. 1.
EU leaders will discuss the proposed measures and possible sanctions on Russian energy imports at their summit starting on Thursday.
The EU imports 40% of its natural gas and 30% of oil from Russia.