Just and public alternatives exist in the Basque Country for advancing towards energy self-sufficiency

The Life Cycle Thinking (LCTG) research group at the EHU-University of the Basque Country, the LAB union and the BC3 (Basque Centre for Climate Change) research centre have jointly published a scientific article in which they demonstrate that alternatives exist for achieving net self-sufficiency, through the installation of primarily publicly owned renewable energy sources. This research aims to contribute to the current scientific debate on just, public and sustainable energy systems. “The objective of this research is to foster a debate that contributes to finding a solution to the current serious energy crisis”, explains Ortzi Akizu, member of the LCTG research group of the EHU. The Basque Country as a whole was considered in this research, since it used data from the French Basque Country, the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country and the Autonomous Community of Navarra. “We have proposed an independent, renewable and primarily public scenario for 2050. This is an open proposal; that is, it is the first step in designing a sustainable energy model in the Basque Country”, adds Akizu.

According to this research study, the Basque Country is among the European regions with the greatest dependence on fossil fuels (behind Cyprus and Malta and ahead of Luxembourg). A total of 79% of the energy consumed today comes from fossil fuels (oil and gas), and the United States is the main supplier, accounting for 33% of the gas and 12% of the oil we consume. In addition, the Basque Country consumes 13% more energy than the Spanish State. “You could say that our energy consumption is high, harmful and costly”, says Akizu.

The research group analysed an energy transition model that would enable the Basque Country to achieve net self-sufficiency using a consumption-based approach. As shown by the data, for 2050 we would have to achieve a scenario in which “we have proven that it is possible to reduce energy consumption by 51%, by adopting measures on a sector-by-sector basis, including an 80% reduction in energy and conversion losses; 61% in transport; 30% in industry; 50% in household heating consumption…”, explains Akizu. In this way, the Basque Country’s energy footprint would decrease from 128 TWh to 63 TWh, while annual consumption per capita would fall from 40 MWh to 19 MWh.

Public renewable generation

As indicated by the study, to achieve this reduction in consumption, regional generation of renewable energy would have to increase by 386%: “We would need to install a renewable energy power capacity of 37 GW, using rooftops and, where possible, unproductive land for photovoltaic and wind power installations, as well as use biomass waste.” Solar panels should be installed on all rooftops, and we would have to use 2.1% of the surface area of the Basque Country for photovoltaic and wind power installations (0.5% and 1.6%, respectively).

Finally, according to the group that conducted the research, “this transition could be, for the most part, carried out publicly, allocating 2.6% of the Basque Country’s budget up to 2050, with the objective being that 65% of the new renewable power installations are under public ownership.”

Therefore, the research sets out the reduction in consumption that could be achieved by 2050, and how primarily public, regional renewable energy generation could be achieved. The research also analysed the region’s ability to achieve such objectives: “In this scenario that we have designed for 2050 we can observe that, even if we were to reduce energy consumption by 51%, to meet our basic needs we would have to increase current renewable generation 2.6 times in the Autonomous Community of Navarra, 5.6 times in the French Basque Country and 7.1 times in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country.” Therefore, at Basque Country level, the generation of renewable energies would have to increase 4.9 times.

According to the research group, “the energy transition would not be just if it were not public and renewable.” The context outlined in the research “would necessarily require the establishment of democratic and just public safeguards to protect the socio-ecological fabric of the territory, and a strict regulatory framework against corporate land grabbing practices”, points out the EHU researcher.

“The LAB union considered it necessary to draft a new proposal to change the energy model underlying unsustainable consumption, and the EHU and BC3 have joined this initial effort. This research is the first step in achieving it, so now is the time to open a debate on how to advance society’s energy transition, on a company-by-company basis and through public institutions and at the individual level”, he concludes.

Additional information

Together with Ortzi Akizu, participants in this research study included Martin Lallana (LAB), Erlantz Lizundia (LCTG group at EHU) and Unai Pascual (Ikerbasque group at BC3).

Ortzi Akizu Gardoki is one of the lead researchers in the Life Cycle Thinking group, and is also a professor at the EHU’s School of Engineering in Vitoria-Gasteiz.