Eurosolar Lëtzebuerg Publishes List of Demands on 20th Anniversary

On Friday 10 June 2022, Eurosolar Lëtzebuerg asbl, a strong advocate of renewable energies in Luxembourg, celebrated its 20th anniversary with a special event at the mill in Beckerich.

This anniversary event took place in the presence of Paul Zens, President of Eurosolar Lëtzebuerg, Henri Kox, Honorary President of Eurosolar Lëtzebuerg and Luxembourg's Minister of Housing, Thierry Lagoda, Mayor of Beckerich, and Claude Turmes, Minister of Energy. It was also the occasion for Eurosolar Lëtzebuerg to present its list of demands, titled "66,000 photovoltaic installations per day".

Every day, Western European countries pay €1 billion, the equivalent of 66,000 photovoltaic systems (the installation of a 10 kWp photovoltaic system costs around €15,000 in Luxembourg), to the warmongering Russian despot for oil and natural gas, argued Eurosolar Lëtzebuerg. The non-profit organisation added that renewable energies are not only beneficial to climate and health, but also to democracy.

For over 20 years, Eurosolar Lëtzebuerg has been an advocate for the energy transition and a proponent of renewable energies. The non-profit recalled that, in 2019, Luxembourg consumed a total of 52,400 GWh of energy of which 14,500 GWh were part of the self-regulating EU-ETS. The remaining 37,900 GWh were, in accordance with the government's climate legislation and climate targets, those used for the calculations of the preferred scenario for Eurosolar:

1. an overall reduction in the annual energy consumption of the non-ETS sector to 10,000 GWh by 2030;

2. 100% of these 10,000 GWh will be generated from renewable energy sources;

3. the complete decarbonisation of the ETS sector's energy consumption or at least a reduction to the greatest possible extent, while taking compensation measures, either through their own production or by investing in renewable energy projects;

4. an implementation to achieve the above goals in line with the preservation and promotion of biodiversity.

According to Eurosolar Lëtzebuerg, the cutback will happen through various ways, namely: a more pragmatic approach to mobility; by means of energy-saving construction methods, the use of organic building materials and insulation, as well as the use of up-to-date building technology for the purpose of energy control and intelligent heating technology; through a shift away from fossil fuels as well as nuclear power in all manufacturing processes and towards green power, produced through renewable energies.

In terms of production, the non-profit noted that the production of the required electricity happens through locally available energy sources: biomass and hydropower (non-expandable), but above all wind and solar energy (photovoltaic). Due to the limited expansion of biomass and hydropower in Luxembourg, these sources should provide no more than 1,000 GWh by 2030. The remaining 9,000 GWh are to be covered by wind power (4,000 GWh) and photovoltaics (5,000 GWh). In this scenario, Eurosolar Lëtzebuerg has called for an annual increase of 18 GWh in biomass, 349 GWh in wind power and 448 GWh in solar power. This corresponds to an addition of 35 wind turbines (5 MW output) and 2.7 km2 covered by photovoltaics per year.

The non-profit also argued that preference must be given to already sealed (i.e. built-up) areas to be covered with photovoltaic systems. The necessary surface of 30 km2 amounts to just 1.2% of the country's total area. The sealed, built surfaces in Luxembourg correspond to 254 km2, therefore 12% of this area are needed for photovoltaic systems. However, according to Eurosolar Lëtzebuerg, it can be assumed that at least half of the built-up / sealed areas hold photovoltaic potential. For new buildings, photovoltaics must be considered from the very first pen stroke, argued the non-profit.

On the subject of sustainable agriculture, Eurosolar Lëtzebuerg recalled that farmers are providers and food producers, who should be able to live from the work of their hands. Photovoltaic systems on agricultural land make it possible to harvest food and electricity. Both also constitute an intervention in the landscape with advantages and disadvantages for agricultural work: less intensive, more extensive. "It's not either food or electricity. Both go hand in hand", stated Eurosolar Lëtzebuerg in its "66,000 photovoltaic installations per day" publication.

The non-profit concluded that it was a matter of producing and consuming electricity as a collective according to individual possibilities and needs.