Winter is finally here in the Northern Hemisphere. As we wind down towards the end of 2025, the days are darker, shorter, and colder. With this comes a higher demand for energy and grid stability.
The EU’s primary energy consumption (total energy demand within a country, including losses) in 2024 is estimated to have increased by 1.3% compared to 2023.1 The share of renewable energy in the EU has more than doubled since 2005,1 with one-quarter of all final energy consumed in the EU obtained from renewable sources in 2024.2 However, meeting the new minimum EU target for renewable sources of 42.5% by 2030 will still require a vast expansion of renewable deployment,2 despite the progress and additional capacity that has been actualised in recent years.
According to the European Environment Agency, solid, liquid, and gaseous biomass formed the largest category in 2024, with wind, hydropower, and solar photovoltaics (PV) accounting for the other three largest sources of renewable energy. However, with the population growing and no indication that electricity demand will decrease anytime soon, the energy mix will have to be diversified even more in order to ensure that this is met, sustainably.
There are some renewable sources that are currently being underutilised or are currently being developed. For example, ocean energy (wave and tidal). While currently more expensive than other renewables, tidal is moving towards a cost reduction. Although dependent on location and available landscapes, current statistics suggest a low operational capacity compared to potential. With 25 GW of accessible wave energy capacity and 11 GW of tidal stream energy,3 the UK is one of most promising regions for marine renewables, and a leader in the wave and tidal sector – it is estimated that tidal could provide 11% of the UK’s electricity by 2050.4 In 2025, the UK government launched the Marine Energy Taskforce (MET) with the aim of unlocking the country’s vast wave and tidal energy potential. The initiative will focus on site development, financing, innovation, and supply chain growth.3 In this issue, Bachmann electronic GmbH outlines wave energy’s potential to contribute to a stable and reliable electricity grid, and looks at some current projects that provide a positive outlook for this energy source.
Another underutilised but abundant resource is geothermal energy. Several technologies exist, with varying degrees of maturity. The overall share in the EU’s renewable energy mix is small in comparison to others (e.g. wind and solar), but it has the potential to grow. However, geothermal has the second-largest potential for electricity-generating capacity after solar PV, and almost three times that of onshore wind and more than five times that of offshore wind. With the energy potential increasing as you reach deeper and hotter resources, almost every region has technically suitable resources once they hit 7000 m.5 Articles from Sulzer, NOV, and OSSO examine current developments in geothermal energy plants, look at temperature management technologies that improve drilling efficiencies in the deepest geothermal applications, and discuss the changes that need to be made within the industry to achieve progress, respectively.
The world is full of renewable resources for us to meet demand without compromising on sustainability and emissions targets; it’s just up to us to figure out how we can best utilise them.
References
- ‘Primary and final energy consumption in the European Union’ , European Environment Agency (6 November 2025)
- ‘Share of energy consumption from renewable sources in Europe’ , European Environment Agency (6 November 2025)
- ‘UK Government Launches Marine Energy Taskforce to Accelerate Wave and Tidal Innovation’ , Wave Energy Scotland (18 June 2025)
- ‘Wave and tidal energy: Accelerating innovation and creating economies of scale’ , RenewableUK
- ‘The Future of Geothermal Energy: Global geothermal potential for electricity generation using EGS technologies’ , International Energy Agency
