The case for renewable energy is stronger than ever, as the war in Iran continues to highlight the dangers of relying on fossil fuels.
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While Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil prices, fell yesterday morning (March 26) amid growing expectations of a drop, barrel prices have exceeded $100 (about €86.38) per barrel several times since the war began. Before the US-Israel war against Iran, oil prices were as low as €63 per barrel.
Much of the action has been blamed on the successful closure of the Strait of Hormuz. This is one of the largest oil fields in the world, handling a fifth of the world’s oil supply.
Analysts warn that oil prices will not “bounce back” immediately after the war ends, especially if more energy resources are targeted.
That’s why oil and energy prices rose across Europe, prompting calls to open licenses to drill in the North Sea.
However, a study from Oxford University found that increasing oil and gas extraction here could save UK households up to £82 (€95) a year. On the other hand, a UK with fully renewable energy could save households up to £441 (€510) a year on their energy bills.
How much renewable energy is Europe wasting?
Despite political tensions fueling the appeal of green energy, Europe continues to waste billions in wind and solar energy.
Last year, Britain lost $1.47 billion (about 1.78 billion euros) by decommissioning wind turbines and paying gas plants to turn them on.
Yesterday, the damaged air cost Britain more than 1.31 million (about 1.5 million euros). About £95,091 (€109,831) of this comes from turning off wind turbines (reduction), while the rest comes from buying energy from other sources, which are often dependent on fossil fuels.
In Germany, compensation costs for the reduction of renewable energy reached €435 million last year. Although this is a decrease of 22 percent compared to 2024 (€ 554 million) – it highlights the extent of green energy being wasted across Europe.
Reduction rates rose to record highs in several EU countries including Spain and France during the first nine months of 2025, boosting calls to combat disruptions and improve electricity services across the continent.
Why is Europe wasting so much renewable energy?
When the wind speed is very strong, the electricity grid is often filled with more green energy than it actually needs.
“This causes rush hour traffic and the power cannot reach where it is needed,” says Octopus Energy, a UK energy firm. “As a result, we pay to do it again – often with dirty fuel – as well as pay to turn off the air.”
Improving the grid will be a big help in reducing wasted electricity, but this is expensive and complicated. The European grid was originally planned around coal, and later gas – meaning it was designed to transport electricity from central plants.
Many wind farms are located in remote and offshore areas, which means that it is more difficult to transport the electricity they generate.
Experts warn that Europe’s energy grid continues to be an obstacle to achieving Net Zero. A 2025 study by Aurora Energy Research calls for rapid grid expansion to deal with rising transmission lines, congestion and limited cross-border capacity.
According to the report, the cost of congestion control in Europe is close to €9 billion by 2024, while 72TWh of renewable energy was largely curtailed due to problems. This is roughly equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of Austria.
Although European network investment has increased by 47 percent in the past five years to 70 billion euros annually, experts warn that it still falls short of what is needed.
Is free energy the solution?
Amid calls to fix Europe’s aging power grid, the UK’s Department for Energy Conservation and Net Zero has unveiled plans to provide discounted power to homes on wind days.
“At times there is too much wind for our old grid to handle, particularly in Scotland and the East of England,” the government wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“Instead of paying for wind farms to shut down, we’re trying a new approach where people living near these hard-to-reach areas get cheap – or free – electricity.”
Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus Energy, which has long pushed for reforms to provide cheaper energy rather than cutting wind power, argues that the trials are “very ineffective” – although he was “delighted” by the announcement.
“Permanent changes can mean you can buy an electric car, or a heat pump, or batteries to use energy when it’s cheaper – or build a data center,” he says.
“All of these changes will require more success than we’ll see in any experiment. Indeed, experiments can’t work without this.”
Jackson is now urging the government to make its offer permanent, to give consumers the confidence to invest in electrification.
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