Diversification, concentration and renewability of the energy supply in the European Union

Energy security assessment quantifies the energy supply to a population and the likelihood, or risk, of an energy disruption or shortage and represents an important aspect of national security, economic stability and prosperity. The quantification of the state of energy supply is context-dependent and involves multiple perspectives: infrastructural, technological, environmental, market, social and geopolitical. Among all the different and relevant aspects involved, diversity and dependence of the energy fuel mix are two of the main energy security dimensions. The present paper investigates the diversification of the energy supply in Europe, by analysing import dependence, market concentration and renewable energy resource deployment in the European Union over the last decade. The analysis utilises a set of indicators aimed at measuring the fuel mix diversity, market concentration, geopolitical stability, renewable energy share and stochasticity - both at single country and at aggregated European levels. Results show a stable evolution of the diversity of the fuel mix and a relatively low market concentration of the period examined. However, the import dependency reduces the energy security by approximately 30% due to the high proportion of imports from a limited number of countries. Moreover, an increasing trend in renewable electricity production share is evident over the last decade, albeit with differences between member states, as a result of the decarbonisation policies implemented by the European Union. (C) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Automated summary

Energy security assessment is an important aspect of national security, economic stability, and prosperity, which quantifies the energy supply and the risk of energy disruption or shortage. This paper investigates the energy supply diversification in Europe and analyzes import dependence, market concentration, and renewable energy deployment. The results show a stable evolution of fuel mix diversity and a relatively low market concentration. However, high import dependency reduces energy security, and there is an increasing trend in renewable electricity production share.