Energy
What is the Cost of Europe’s Energy Crisis?
Subscribe to the Elements free mailing list for more like this
What is the Cost of Europe’s Energy Crisis?
This was originally posted on Elements. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on natural resource megatrends in your email every week.
Europe is scrambling to cut its reliance on Russian fossil fuels.
As European gas prices soar eight times their 10-year average, countries are introducing policies to curb the impact of rising prices on households and businesses. These include everything from the cost of living subsidies to wholesale price regulation. Overall, funding for such initiatives has reached $276 billion as of August.
With the continent thrown into uncertainty, the above chart shows allocated funding by country in response to the energy crisis.
The Energy Crisis, In Numbers
Using data from Bruegel, the below table reflects spending on national policies, regulation, and subsidies in response to the energy crisis for select European countries between September 2021 and July 2022. All figures in U.S. dollars.
Country | Allocated Funding | Percentage of GDP | Household Energy Spending, Average Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
🇩🇪 Germany | $60.2B | 1.7% | 9.9% |
🇮🇹 Italy | $49.5B | 2.8% | 10.3% |
🇫🇷 France | $44.7B | 1.8% | 8.5% |
🇬🇧 U.K. | $37.9B | 1.4% | 11.3% |
🇪🇸 Spain | $27.3B | 2.3% | 8.9% |
🇦🇹 Austria | $9.1B | 2.3% | 8.9% |
🇵🇱 Poland | $7.6B | 1.3% | 12.9% |
🇬🇷 Greece | $6.8B | 3.7% | 9.9% |
🇳🇱 Netherlands | $6.2B | 0.7% | 8.6% |
🇨🇿 Czech Republic | $5.9B | 2.5% | 16.1% |
🇧🇪 Belgium | $4.1B | 0.8% | 8.2% |
🇷🇴 Romania | $3.8B | 1.6% | 12.5% |
🇱🇹 Lithuania | $2.0B | 3.6% | 10.0% |
🇸🇪 Sweden | $1.9B | 0.4% | 9.2% |
🇫🇮 Finland | $1.2B | 0.5% | 6.1% |
🇸🇰 Slovakia | $1.0B | 1.0% | 14.0% |
🇮🇪 Ireland | $1.0B | 0.2% | 9.2% |
🇧🇬 Bulgaria | $0.8B | 1.2% | 11.2% |
🇱🇺 Luxembourg | $0.8B | 1.1% | n/a |
🇭🇷 Croatia | $0.6B | 1.1% | 14.3% |
🇱🇻 Lativia | $0.5B | 1.4% | 11.6% |
🇩🇰 Denmark | $0.5B | 0.1% | 8.2% |
🇸🇮 Slovenia | $0.3B | 0.5% | 10.4% |
🇲🇹 Malta | $0.2B | 1.4% | n/a |
🇪🇪 Estonia | $0.2B | 0.8% | 10.9% |
🇨🇾 Cyprus | $0.1B | 0.7% | n/a |
Source: Bruegel, IMF. Euro and pound sterling exchange rates to U.S. dollar as of August 25, 2022.
Germany is spending over $60 billion to combat rising energy prices. Key measures include a $300 one-off energy allowance for workers, in addition to $147 million in funding for low-income families. Still, energy costs are forecasted to increase by an additional $500 this year for households.
In Italy, workers and pensioners will receive a $200 cost of living bonus. Additional measures, such as tax credits for industries with high energy usage were introduced, including a $800 million fund for the automotive sector.
With energy bills predicted to increase three-fold over the winter, households in the U.K. will receive a $477 subsidy in the winter to help cover electricity costs.
Meanwhile, many Eastern European countries—whose households spend a higher percentage of their income on energy costs— are spending more on the energy crisis as a percentage of GDP. Greece is spending the highest, at 3.7% of GDP.
Utility Bailouts
Energy crisis spending is also extending to massive utility bailouts.
Uniper, a German utility firm, received $15 billion in support, with the government acquiring a 30% stake in the company. It is one of the largest bailouts in the country’s history. Since the initial bailout, Uniper has requested an additional $4 billion in funding.
Not only that, Wien Energie, Austria’s largest energy company, received a €2 billion line of credit as electricity prices have skyrocketed.
Deepening Crisis
Is this the tip of the iceberg? To offset the impact of high gas prices, European ministers are discussing even more tools throughout September in response to a threatening energy crisis.
To reign in the impact of high gas prices on the price of power, European leaders are considering a price ceiling on Russian gas imports and temporary price caps on gas used for generating electricity, among others.
Price caps on renewables and nuclear were also suggested.
Given the depth of the situation, the chief executive of Shell said that the energy crisis in Europe would extend beyond this winter, if not for several years.
Maps
Mapped: Renewable Energy and Battery Installations in the U.S. in 2023
This graphic describes new U.S. renewable energy installations by state along with nameplate capacity, planned to come online in 2023.

Renewable and Battery Installations in the U.S. in 2023
This was originally posted on Elements. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on real assets and resource megatrends each week.
Renewable energy, in particular solar power, is set to shine in 2023. This year, the U.S. plans to get over 80% of its new energy installations from sources like battery, solar, and wind.
The above map uses data from EIA to highlight planned U.S. renewable energy and battery storage installations by state for 2023.
Texas and California Leading in Renewable Energy
Nearly every state in the U.S. has plans to produce new clean energy in 2023, but it’s not a surprise to see the two most populous states in the lead of the pack.
Even though the majority of its power comes from natural gas, Texas currently leads the U.S. in planned renewable energy installations. The state also has plans to power nearly 900,000 homes using new wind energy.
California is second, which could be partially attributable to the passing of Title 24, an energy code that makes it compulsory for new buildings to have the equipment necessary to allow the easy installation of solar panels, battery storage, and EV charging.
New solar power in the U.S. isn’t just coming from places like Texas and California. In 2023, Ohio will add 1,917 MW of new nameplate solar capacity, with Nevada and Colorado not far behind.
Top 10 States | Battery (MW) | Solar (MW) | Wind (MW) | Total (MW) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Texas | 1,981 | 6,462 | 1,941 | 10,385 |
California | 4,555 | 4,293 | 123 | 8,970 |
Nevada | 678 | 1,596 | 0 | 2,274 |
Ohio | 12 | 1,917 | 5 | 1,934 |
Colorado | 230 | 1,187 | 200 | 1,617 |
New York | 58 | 509 | 559 | 1,125 |
Wisconsin | 4 | 939 | 92 | 1,034 |
Florida | 3 | 978 | 0 | 980 |
Kansas | 0 | 0 | 843 | 843 |
Illinois | 0 | 363 | 477 | 840 |
The state of New York is also looking to become one of the nation’s leading renewable energy providers. The New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) is making real strides towards this objective with 11% of the nation’s new wind power projects expected to come online in 2023.
According to the data, New Hampshire is the only state in the U.S. that has no new utility-scale renewable energy installations planned for 2023. However, the state does have plans for a massive hydroelectric plant that should come online in 2024.
Decarbonizing Energy
Renewable energy is considered essential to reduce global warming and CO2 emissions.
In line with the efforts by each state to build new renewable installations, the Biden administration has set a goal of achieving a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and a net zero emissions economy by no later than 2050.
The EIA forecasts the share of U.S. electricity generation from renewable sources rising from 22% in 2022 to 23% in 2023 and to 26% in 2024.
-
Batteries3 weeks ago
How EV Adoption Will Impact Oil Consumption (2015-2025P)
-
Demographics7 days ago
Comparing Population Pyramids Around the World
-
Wealth3 weeks ago
Ranked: The World’s Top 50 Endowment Funds
-
Green5 days ago
Ranked: The 20 Most Air-Polluted Cities on Earth
-
United States3 weeks ago
Charting the Rise of America’s Debt Ceiling
-
Stocks3 days ago
Ranked: America’s Largest Semiconductor Companies
-
Demographics3 weeks ago
Ranked: The Cities with the Most Skyscrapers in 2023
-
Markets3 days ago
The Fastest Rising Asset Classes in 2023