The sweltering heat and heat waves that have engulfed Europe since the beginning of summer have had a major impact on its energy systems, and Europe's electricity production is also under serious threat due to a crisis in the supply of natural gas.

　　The energy crisis intensified and electricity prices soared.

As a result, many European countries have come up with different strategies to put energy conservation on the agenda and make energy conservation a part of people's daily lives.

In addition, EU countries are also strengthening cooperation and actively developing renewable energy.

　　Energy crisis intensifies

　　Europe's energy system is under severe stress from the onslaught of heat and drought.

French "Echo" reported on August 8 that hydropower, nuclear power, wind power... Almost all power generation methods are affected.

　　The most affected is hydropower.

Hydropower meets 15% of the EU's electricity demand, but the long-term high temperature has caused the water level of many rivers in Europe to drop, and the hydropower generation is worrying. For example, the hydropower generation in Spain and Italy in the first half of the year decreased by 40% compared with the same period last year.

According to Reuters, in the first week of July, the proportion of water in Norway's reservoirs was only 59.2%, lower than the average level of the past 20 years, and Norway's largest power producer Statkraft has been forced to reduce hydropower generation.

　　In the second week of July, EDF announced that it would temporarily limit the power generation capacity of two nuclear power plants on the Rhone due to rising temperatures in the plant's cooling water due to extreme heat, Bloomberg reported.

The limited capacity of nuclear reactors to generate electricity, coupled with the surge in electricity demand caused by the heat wave, has reversed France's role in the European electricity market: in the first half of this year, France not only lost its position as Europe's largest electricity exporter, but even became a net importer of electricity country.

　　In hot weather, the wind is often weak, and wind power is also affected. Only solar energy is not affected by heat and drought, but solar power only accounts for 5% of Europe's annual power generation.

As a result, Europe is increasingly reliant on natural gas power stations.

But the Russian-Ukrainian crisis pushed the price of natural gas in the European market to an unprecedented 200 euros per megawatt-hour, sending electricity prices soaring.

July was the most expensive month on record for electricity prices in Germany, France, Italy and the UK.

　　Surprisingly good "winter"

　　The European energy system is under enormous pressure, with electricity prices soaring.

The European Commission called on member states to reduce energy consumption and store more energy for the coming winter.

To that end, the European Commission is advising people to drive slowly on motorways, park at home on Sundays, and work from home more frequently, which saves more oil.

　　The website of the Spanish newspaper El Pais pointed out in a report on August 7 that Germany is highly dependent on Russian natural gas. In order to mitigate the impact, the heating of private swimming pools in winter will be limited. The Brandenburg Gate, a well-known landmark in Berlin, Germany, can only be reached at 2 a.m. With decorative lights on, many cities such as Hannover have opted to turn off the lighting on buildings, including landmarks.

The government is also advising people to shorten their showers, turn off lights at home, and use bicycles instead of cars to travel.

　　According to Agence France-Presse, on July 24, local time, Agnès-Parnier Runache, the French Minister of Energy Transition, announced through the Sunday newspaper that measures will be taken to reduce energy consumption in stores.

She introduced that two decrees will be announced in the next few days: first, all light box billboards must be turned off from 1 am to 6 am, except for airports and railway stations; in addition, when shops are using air conditioning or heating equipment, Stores are not allowed to open.

　　The Italian parliament previously passed an amendment to the energy bill, requiring that from May to the end of March next year, in all public buildings except hospitals and nursing homes, the air-conditioning temperature in summer should not be lower than 27 °C, and the air-conditioning temperature in winter should not exceed 19 °C.

In addition, the government has also demanded that public lighting be restricted, offices of public officials be closed early, and the Colosseum in the capital even turned off lights to raise people's awareness of energy conservation.

　　On August 1 this year, the Spanish cabinet meeting approved the country's energy-saving plan, including heating in public places at a maximum of 19 °C, air conditioning at a minimum of 27 °C, and turning off shop window lighting after 10 pm.

In addition, the government is also encouraging people to cycle to and from get off work to save fuel in their cars.

　　The Belgian government has decided to extend the life of its nuclear power plants by another 10 years, so as not to increase its reliance on natural gas; Hungary's energy-saving plan also involves extending the life of nuclear power plants.

The Dutch government is advising people to shorten their showers and instead use a dryer to dry their clothes on a hanger.

　　Embrace renewable energy

　　In addition to encouraging people to save energy as much as possible in their daily lives, the EU is also committed to promoting the diversification of energy supply, encouraging the application of energy-saving technologies, and accelerating the installation of renewable energy and the replacement of fossil fuels.

　　In mid-May this year, the European Union formally proposed the "REPowerEU energy plan".

European Commission President von der Leyen said that the EU will use 300 billion euros of funds, and this huge amount of funds has also been hailed as the "turbocharged engine" of the EU's energy transformation.

　　According to the plan, the proportion of renewable energy in the EU's energy mix will be increased from 40% to 45% in 2030, and investment in renewable energy will be accelerated.

　　In the plan, the EU will also accelerate the construction of hydrogen infrastructure.

Relevant statistics show that hydrogen energy currently accounts for less than 2% of the total energy consumption in Europe. The EU will actively build relevant facilities and strive to increase the use of green hydrogen in blast furnaces to 1.52 million tons by 2030.

　　In addition, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Belgium also jointly announced the latest offshore wind power plan. These four countries will build at least 150 million kilowatts of offshore wind power by 2050, which is more than 10 times the current installed capacity of offshore wind power in the four countries, and the total investment is expected to exceed 135 billion euros.

However, Reuters pointed out that although European countries are currently working to strengthen energy cooperation, they still face financing and regulatory challenges.