Hungary Plans to Fully Rely on Renewable Energy by 2030

An estimated drop of 30% in the prices of photo-voltaic modules will give Hungary an opportunity to meet its renewable energy targets.

Setting the right precedent, Hungary has announced that it aims to phase out the use of coal by 2030 and will be fully reliant on renewable energy for country’s energy needs.

With a dependence on coal of about 18% and the European Union’s emissions trading system (ETS) hiking the price, the Hungarian government has decided to move away from fossil fuels to meet the country’s energy needs.

EU’s ETS is a climate change strategy aimed at pressuring member countries to move towards renewable energy by raising the price of Lignite, a key component in the thermal power industry.

An estimated drop of 30% in the prices of photo-voltaic modules, the Hungarian Government believes, will give the country an opportunity to meet its renewable energy targets set by the EU which mandate all 28 EU member countries to source 20% of their energy needs from renewable energy.

With a present capacity of around 500 MW of PV installed, the country is aiming 30,000 MW by the end of 2022 to push its renewable drive.

To cope up with the potential job loss the move to renewables will bring, the Hungarian government is planning to emulate Spain and will train the coal industry workers in the clean energy sector enabling the smooth transition.

Hungarian president Áder János said before the parliament before the voting on climate strategy that, “The fall in costs for solar and wind energy and lithium-ion batteries over the past 10 years can help create new industries, jobs and economic growth”