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The war on Iran has unexpectedly ignited a renewables race, as Europe grapples with the reality of its fossil fuel reliance. <\/p>\n
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Oil and gas prices have yo-yoed significantly in recent weeks due to the stranglehold Iran has on the Strait of Hormuz, a 39km passage that carries around 20 per cent of global oil supplies<\/a>. <\/p>\n Analysts warn that sky-high prices at the pump and on your energy bills won\u2019t immediately snap back \u2013 even when the war comes to an end. This has resulted in a renewables surge, with many Europeans scrambling to purchase green tech like electric vehicles (EVs), heat pumps and plug-in solar systems<\/a>. <\/p>\n While renewables have been touted as the silver bullet to the latest fossil fuel shock, their efficiency is being put to the test by the very problem they\u2019re trying to prevent: climate change.<\/p>\n Can renewables survive climate change?<\/p>\n According to the UN, each increment of global warming results in \u201crapidly escalating hazards\u201d such as more intense heatwaves, heavier rainfall and other weather extremes that increase risks for human health and ecosystems. <\/p>\n Thomas Balogun, a renewables investor, tells Euronews Earth that this has become one of the most \u201csignificant operational and strategic challenges” facing renewable energy systems.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile renewable energy sources are central to reducing our carbon emissions and addressing climate change, they\u2019re inherently dependent on environmental conditions,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Balogun argues that as weather patterns grow more volatile \u2013 as heat-trapping gases continue to drive up temperatures \u2013 the reliability, efficiency and resilience of our green energy transition are being pushed to breaking point.<\/p>\n The solar heat \u2018paradox\u2019<\/p>\n A new analysis by SolarPower Europe<\/a> found that harnessing sunlight for energy has saved Europe more than \u20ac3 billion in March alone \u2013 and could go on to save the continent a staggering \u20ac67.5 billion by the end of the year, if gas prices remain high.<\/p>\n However, 2026 is slated to be among the hottest on record, potentially worsened by forecasts that El Ni\u00f1o could form later in the year. While soaring temperatures may seem like a boost for solar generation, intense heat can actually reduce efficiency while increasing strain on the electricity grid.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a common misconception that more sun always equals more power,\u201d Ioanna Vergini, founder of wfy24.com<\/a>, a platform that analyses weather data and climate volatility trends, tells Euronews Earth. <\/p>\n \u201cPhotovoltaic (PV) cells are semiconductors, and like all electronics, they lose efficiency as temperature rises.\u201d<\/p>\n For every degree above 25\u00b0C, solar panel efficiency drops by about 0.4 to 0.5 per cent.<\/p>\n During the extreme heatwaves that sweltered large parts of Spain and Greece last summer, local solar farms saw \u201csignificant output dips\u201d exactly when air-conditioning demand was peaking. <\/p>\n \u201cWe tracked instances where surface temperatures on panels hit 65\u00b0C, leading to a nearly 20 per cent drop in theoretical capacity,\u201d Vergini says.<\/p>\n Last year, intense heat struck large swathes of Europe \u2013 including usually cool Finland, which endured three straight weeks of 30\u00b0C temperatures. Further south, Europeans struggled under temperatures exceeding 40\u00b0C, pushing dozens of nations into drought.<\/p>\n Researchers at Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine looked at 754 European cities and found that climate change<\/a> was responsible for pushing temperatures up by an average of 3.6\u00b0C in summer 2025.<\/p>\n A \u2018sweet spot\u2019 for wind turbines<\/p>\n Blustery conditions are ideal for wind energy, and helped the UK break a new renewable record this year. On 26 March, British wind energy generation hit a new high of 23,880 megawatts, enough power to supply around 23 million homes. <\/p>\n However, when wind speeds get too strong, the electricity grid is often filled with more green energy than it actually needs. <\/p>\n According to Octopus Energy, a UK energy firm, this creates \u201crush hour traffic on the grid\u201d meaning the energy can\u2019t get to where it\u2019s needed.<\/p>\n As a result, wind turbines are often turned off<\/a> (a process known as curtailment) leading to gas plants being paid to switch back on. This cost Britain a staggering \u00a31.47 billion (around \u20ac1.78 billion) last year.<\/p>\n In Germany, compensation costs for the curtailment of renewable energy hit \u20ac435 million in 2025, while curtailment rates rose to record levels in several EU nations such as Spain and France during the first nine months of last year.<\/p>\n The British government recently unveiled plans to provide homeowners with discounted or free electricity<\/a> when the grid becomes overwhelmed with green energy to overcome this costly issue.<\/p>\n Strong winds can also force turbines to shut down independently of government ordered closures. <\/p>\n \u201cWind turbines have a \u2018sweet spot\u2019 \u2013 when wind speeds exceed around 90kmh, turbines enter \u2018survivability mode\u2019 and feather their blades to a stop to prevent structural failure,\u201d explains Vergini.<\/p>\n During Storm Ciar\u00e1n in late 2023, high-capacity offshore wind farms in the UK and France had to be shut down despite the ‘perfect’ wind conditions on paper. This led to a sudden reliance on gas peaker plants to fill the gap.<\/p>\n Previously, a wind turbine blade in Australia snapped in half during a storm just six months after it was installed. <\/p>\n It is why around the world, operators are adapting wind turbines to withstand higher wind speeds \u2013 particularly in regions prone to hurricanes and tropical cyclones. <\/p>\n In 2023, MingYang Smart Energy installed a \u201ctyphoon-resitsant\u201d wind turbine in the South China Sea that it says can survive wind speeds of up to 215km per hour for 10 minutes. <\/p>\n But with climate projections indicating that winter windstorms will increase slightly in number and intensity, many of Europe\u2019s turbines could be at risk of failing. <\/p>\n Is Europe\u2019s \u2018biggest battery\u2019 empty?<\/p>\n Warmer temperatures \u2013 fuelled by human-caused climate change \u2013 are also impacting hydropower.<\/p>\n Take Norway, for example, which is often touted as Europe\u2019s \u201cbiggest battery\u201d due to its thousands of dams. Following a warm, dry winter, the Nordic nation\u2019s snow reserves have fallen to their lowest levels in two decades.<\/p>\n Experts say this has created a deficit of about 25TWh, around enough energy to power around 2.5 million homes for a year \u2013 and almost a fifth of Norway\u2019s total hydropower output last year.<\/p>\n \u201cThe low snowpack in Norway this past winter is a good example of a broader shift: hydropower in Europe is becoming more variable,\u201d Alex Truby of Upstream Tech, an AI-driven forecasting model, tells Euronews Earth. <\/p>\n \u201cAt the same time, precipitation patterns are shifting. Much of Europe may see more total precipitation, but more of it is falling as rain instead of snow.\u201d<\/p>\n For every 1\u2103 rise in air temperature, the atmosphere can hold around seven per cent more moisture, which can lead to more intense and heavy rainfall. <\/p>\n While rain provides immediate runoff, snow stores water through the winter and releases it gradually during spring and summer, providing a consistent, predictable supply of water to generate electricity.<\/p>\n Truby argues that to tackle the issue, hydropower plants need to adapt to changing conditions. This can be done with better seasonal and short-term forecasts, increased storage capacity, and improvements to the grid, which will help move renewable energy across regions to help smooth out the variability.<\/p>\n Europe\u2019s \u2018insufficient\u2019 energy grid<\/p>\n