Energy poverty and the role of renewable energy sources in its mitigation

Absztrakt (kivonat)

The availability of energy is a fundamental part of people’s lives in the 21th century. Yet it is not available for everyone or not under the same conditions. The problem of energy poverty is an issue that still has not been solved in spite of realizing it in the 1990-ies. Among other big actors, the European Union also tries to address this issue. The countries of Europe have set a goal to reach clean and affordable energy. This achievement would end the struggle of numerous energy consumers that are right now vulnerable to the energy market conditions. However, alleviating energy poverty is a very demanding job as it needs to be approached with a complex set of measurements. One of the most important steps towards the solution is the transition to renewable energy sources that are promised to be more efficient and less costly. Nevertheless, their positive impact has been questioned in several studies. This research aims to find out more about how renewables affect the corrective actions in the mitigation process of energy poverty in the European Union.