LOCKDOWN ENERGY USE “A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE,” SAYS ENAPPSYS CHIEF Energy consumption habits for 2020 may provide us with a glimpse into the future with renewables expected to take a higher market share as the world begins to shift away from fossil fuels, according to the director of energy market analyst, EnAppSys.
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he coronavirus pandemic caused overall European energy consumption to slump by 3 per cent for 2020 owing to the knock-on effects of lockdowns on energy demand. Renewable sources such as wind and solar power are expected to continue to push out more traditional fuel types - gas, coal and lignite - from the energy market as trends in expanding renewable energy portfolios continue into the 2020s. Analysts predict these are general trends we should see going into the future. Jean-Paul Harreman, director of EnAppSys, told Industry Europe that the coronavirus pandemic was a wake-up call for companies to increase flexibility with their energy supplies. He said: “I very much doubt the effects the pandemic had on the energy market will be permanent, at least in the shortterm. We may see more minor increases
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in renewable energy use than predicted, but the statistics show that once demand returns to normal, consumption habits nearly always bounce back. “What we saw with the lockdowns was behaviour in energy markets not predicted for at least another three-to-five years, with renewable energy having a higher degree of penetration within consumption markets. At points, the gaps between renewable generation and demand were so small that it put pressure on short-term markets.” Demand for energy reached its lowest during the summer months, which saw gas generation offering a way to balance out gaps in the market where renewables fell short. Harreman stated this was due to gas assets being far more flexible in Europe than energy derived from coal or lignite. Coal suffered a huge collapse in March, but levels have recovered and even
exceeded 2019 levels, partly owing to an increase in gas prices going up past the marginal costs of coal, although Harreman primarily attributed this to Asian markets. “Switching away from fossil fuels has been an ongoing trend for years but it has not had a great effect on the markets or its prices outside of what we have seen in 2020 with the pandemic. This is a real glimpse into the future once sustainable platforms become the norm,” he added. The chaotic effects of the pandemic have highlighted the need to make energy platforms more sustainable to prevent such catastrophic effects in the future. A number of industries have made efforts to switch away from more traditional fuels. The global automotive market has seen a greater shift towards hybrid and fully-electric vehicles throughout the year, although a semiconductor shortage - attributed to significantly
