Solar or wind? Biomethane or green hydrogen? For ENGIE, a pioneer in the development of renewable energies , the equation has never been posed in these terms. Because all renewable energies (RES) have their place to accelerate towards carbon neutrality, we have from the outset favored an energy mix focusing on the diversity and complementarity of energies. 

Analysis with Gwenaëlle Avice-Huet , Deputy Managing Director of ENGIE, responsible for the Renewables Global Business Line.

Gwenaëlle Avice-Huet , Deputy Managing Director of ENGIE, responsible for the Global Business Line Renewables

Why did you choose a diversified mix of renewable energies for a long time?

Gwenaëlle Avice-Huet: Our raison d'être is to act to accelerate the transition to a carbon neutral economy. However, we have known it for a long time: making this transition a success requires developing a carbon-free energy mix. It is for this reason that at ENGIE, we jointly rely on energy sobriety and on the complementarity of energies as levers of success to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This complementarity of energies is the key to allow our energy system to balance in real time the level of production with the level of consumption. And it is thanks to a diverse and complementary set of renewable energies that we can produce the right energy for the right use, while always having at least one source available to meet needs. 

What advantages does this early choice of a diversified mix give us today?

Gwenaëlle Avice-Huet: By developing a wide range of renewable energies, we are able to support regions and industrial players in setting up local and carbon-free production infrastructures. These infrastructures - solar power plants, onshore or offshore wind farms, biomethane injection units, geothermal power plants, etc. - are adapted to the needs and resources of their territories and constitute a production model that is both clean and resilient. A model that promotes short supply chains and enhances local resources and energy production. A model that today shows all its value in the Covid-19 context, because it highlights the key role that renewable energy solutions could play in making our energy system more resilient,renewable hydrogen.

How can we accelerate the development of renewable energies today?

Gwenaëlle Avice-Huet: Renewable energies represented 72% of new capacities in 2019 *. This acceleration is therefore underway. It is supported by improved technologies, economies of scale and the competitiveness of supply chains which have led to a sharp drop in the cost of electricity from renewable sources. As a result, in ten years, the cost of energy has fallen by more than 80% for solar photovoltaic power and 40% for onshore wind power. But lowering costs and developing new capacities, while essential, will not be enough to achieve a carbon neutral world. We also need to link technologies together: in particular, we will need low carbon energy vectors (biogas, hydrogen, etc.) and sectoral couplings to make our future electricity systems ever stronger, more profitable and more reliable.

* Source: International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena): “Cost of production of renewable energies in 2019”

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