The time has come to scale up energy storage in southeast Europe

       Russia's war in Ukraine, and the resulting disruption in the global energy market, has sent EU countries scrambling for alternatives to secure domestic energy supplies. The European Commission's REPowerEU Plan aims to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy technologies (which are now among the cheapest sources of electricity in the world) to replace fossil fuels in power generation, industry, and transportation.

　　Accelerating the phase-out of coal and replacing it with renewables is the quickest way to achieve decarbonisation goals in Southeast Europe (SEE). Every year, deferring the coal exit crowds out investments in cleaner, less expensive alternatives, raises the human and health costs of air and water pollution, and slows the economic transition to sustainable development.