The European Commission has adopted the most encompassing amendment of the energy statistics regulation ever conducted. The aim is to support even further the European Green Deal. This amendment, which has entered into force in February, will provide statistics to monitor a number of policy initiatives to decarbonise the European economy, including the Energy Union and the Fit for 55 package, as well as the Hydrogen Strategy and the Initiative on Batteries.
“Today’s amendment to the energy statistics regulation marks a milestone on the path to a credible and evidence-based transition towards a climate-neutral economy,” commented Commissioner for Economy, Paolo Gentiloni. “With this legal act, we set the pace for energy statistics worldwide, stay ahead of policy developments and already incorporate data needs from the Fit for 55 package and other important policy initiatives, in line with the Commission’s priorities.”
With this amendment, Eurostat will publish new and more detailed high-quality data, among others, on new energy carriers, such as hydrogen, which will play a key role in sectors that are difficult to decarbonise (such as maritime and air transport); information that will become essential to monitor the developments associated with the EU Hydrogen Strategy. It will also publish data on the decentralised production of electricity, to monitor small producers such as households/firms installing their own solar PV panels on their roofs or agriculture/forestry companies producing their own electricity from biomass or biogas. And, it will monitor large-scale batteries, which will become essential to store electricity and stabilise future smart-grids with a high penetration of renewables (as wind or solar production is variable and its output cannot be fine-tuned to meet demand).
