A new report says that about one quarter of the European Union’s electricity this year has come from wind and solar power. It’s a record number for the EU (European Union). The switch to solar and wind power was necessary because it has become difficult to buy Russian gas due to the war in Ukraine. The EU avoided €11 billion in gas costs.
19 countries of the 27 in the EU also broke records for wind and solar power. For a long time, Poland has relied on coal, but made a 48.5 percent increase in solar and wind generation this year. Spain increased their electricity generation from solar and wind by 35 percent.
Europe has had an energy crisis for some years now. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made the situation worse for the EU because about 45 percent of their gas supply came from Russia.
The EU was already planning to use clean energy like solar, but the war has sped up the transition. Its goal is to get 45 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030.
Between March and September this year, 25 percent of the EU’s electricity came from wind and solar. 20 percent of its electricity came from gas.
Because of the energy crisis, some countries are also changing their plans for nuclear power. For example, Germany wanted to close its nuclear power plants this year, but will continue operating them until sometime next year.
VOCABULARY
- Report – a written description of an event; story; article
- One quarter – ¼; one-fourth; 25%
- The European Union – 27 countries in Europe that work closely together
- Solar – of or related to the sun; produced by or coming from the sun
- Record – the most or least ever; the highest level ever; achieved for the first time
- Avoid – stay away from; keep away
- Break a record – better or more extreme than anything that has come before
- Rely on – to need (someone or something) for support or help; depend on
- Coal – a black or dark brown rock that burns strongly, a rock used to make big fires
- Generation – the production or creation of something;
- Crisis – a time of intense difficulty or danger; emergency; hardship
- Invasion – the action of going into and attacking/fighting another country
- Supply – an available amount; stock; reserve; product or pieces ready to be used or sold; the quantity or number of pieces available
- Clean energy – energy generated from renewable sources (wind, solar, water, etc.) without creating greenhouse gasses (CO2)
- Speed up – move or happen faster; cause something to move or happen more quickly
- Transition – a change from one thing to the next
- Renewable – Can be continued or extended for a longer period; replacing itself by natural processes;
- Source – the place or thing that something comes from or starts at;
- Nuclear power – atomic energy; electric power generated by a nuclear reactor
- Operate – to control or use a machine; to manage; run; use;
Original story from The Verge below:
- English teachers looking for teaching ideas, check out my post on using easy news articles for lessons.
- English learners looking for study ideas, check out my post on using news stories for English practice.
