Europe’s clean energy transition is a central pillar of three complementary EU policy frameworks: the Energy Union, the European Green Deal, and REPowerEU, which collectively provide governance, set ambition, and accelerate efforts for decarbonisation, the deployment of renewable energy, and the resilience of the energy system, from power plants to transmission lines, distribution networks, and system operations. The transition is accelerating as renewable electricity generation expands and electrification increases across transport, heating, and industry, requiring electricity infrastructure to evolve in order to integrate these new energy flows. While this shift is reshaping Europe’s energy landscape, it is also introducing new operational, infrastructural, and planning challenges which require coordinated and data-driven responses.
The International Day of Clean Energy, established by the United Nations General Assembly, aims to raise awareness and mobilise action for a just and inclusive clean energy transition, strengthen cooperation on sustainable energy policies, and support the objectives of Sustainable Development Goal 7 on affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy.
- Electrification and grid expansion
Europe’s clean energy transition increasingly relies on electrification across power generation, transport, heating, and industry. According to the European State of the Climate (ESOTC 2024), 2024 saw a record of electricity generation by renewable sources in Europe, at 45% of the total annual electricity generation. However, while demand and renewable energy capacity are growing rapidly, the expansion of transmission and distribution grids has progressed more slowly, constrained by lengthy permitting processes, land use and environmental constraints. Grid congestion is therefore emerging as a barrier to integrating new renewable energy projects.
- Grid balancing in renewable-dominated systems
As wind and solar energy make up a growing share of electricity generation, maintaining grid balance becomes progressively more challenging. Electricity systems must continuously match generation with demand. However, renewable energy output varies with changing weather conditions, often over short timescales and large geographical areas. These fluctuations can lead to situations in which generation exceeds the system’s ability to absorb electricity, requiring operators to curtail renewable output or to deploy additional measures to maintain system stability.
- Increasing the resilience of the energy infrastructure to climate-driven risks
Energy infrastructure is increasingly exposed to climate-related risks. Rising temperatures, more frequent extreme weather events, and changing hydrological conditions can affect the performance, safety, and reliability of renewable power plants and transmission networks. Understanding how these risks evolve over time has become a key component of energy planning and investment decisions. Together, the datasets and initiatives support energy planners and asset owners in assessing vulnerabilities, strengthening prevention measures, and support investment decisions which improve long-term security of the EU energy system under a changing climate.
- Supporting long-term energy infrastructure sustainability
Energy planning increasingly relies on climate-informed decisions, as climate change is altering the availability of renewable resources, temperature extremes, and weather patterns across Europe. Copernicus data supports forward-looking design of energy infrastructure by providing information on climate trends and long-term climate projections. In particular, the recently updated Pan-European Climate Database (PECD), which was planned, designed, and produced in collaboration with the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), delivers tailored climate indicators relevant to the energy sector, helping assess how changing wind conditions, solar resources, temperature extremes, and other climate drivers may affect energy production and infrastructure performance over coming decades.
Copernicus supporting the EU clean energy transition
As the energy system in Europe evolves to include higher shares of clean, renewable electricity, access to consistent and reliable environmental data is becoming increasingly important for energy planning and operations. Across grid development, system balancing, infrastructure resilience, and long-term investment decisions, the Copernicus Services provide free and open data which supports the EU clean energy transition and contributes to improving the robustness and long-term reliability of the energy system in Europe.
The Copernicus Energy Hub brings Copernicus resources together by providing a gateway to curated datasets and products, sector-relevant news, and illustrative use cases which demonstrate how Copernicus data is applied in operational, planning, and strategic contexts. By presenting practical applications across various energy domains, the Energy Hub supports users in identifying relevant data, exploring potential applications, and finding inspiration for integrating Copernicus information into their own workflows.