EU wants more US gas and renewable energy to replace Russian supplies

The EU energy commissioner said that the EU will look to other countries, including the U.S., to supply more gas to replace Russian supplies and to expand renewable energy to reduce its reliance on fuel.

In response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU has committed to stop using Russian fossil fuels before 2027. Despite a decline in Russian pipeline gas supplies, the EU increased imports of Russian natural gas liquefied last year.

In a media interview with the Russian president Vladimir Putin, EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen stated: "Instead using taxpayers', citizens', money to pay for gasoline where the revenues go into Putin's war-chest, we need make sure that our own energy is produced."

Jorgensen stated that Brussels is preparing to change the rules for allowing renewable energy to be built faster. He said that the EU will increase efforts to find alternative sources of energy for industries and home heating, where gas can't be replaced quickly by electricity.

He said, "It's then my job to ensure that it is not Russian and cheap."

"There will be a need for gas and we will have other sources to choose from than Russia. This could also mean a larger importation from the U.S."

Last week, European benchmark gas prices reached two-year highs.

Before taking office, Donald Trump warned that the EU could face trade tariffs in the event it did not import more oil and natural gas from the United States.

Draft documents published earlier this week showed that the European Commission, although it does not directly buy gas, has plans to engage with LNG providers and to consider investing in LNG export facilities abroad to secure long-term contracts at stable prices.

According to EU law, European Gas Contracts must expire by 2049 in order to meet the EU's target of net zero emissions by 2020.

Jorgensen refused to comment on leaked draft documents that the Commission expects to publish next week.

He confirmed that the Commission is working to tighten up the controls on the gas market in order to prevent speculative trading from causing price spikes. Next week, he will propose "financial tools" to decouple the retail electricity prices from the high gas prices.

Due to the EU's rules on the electricity market, even though renewable energy has been rapidly expanding in Europe, gas prices continue to determine the price that many European consumers will pay for their power.

(source: Reuters)