Renewables Place Europe’s Electricity at the Mercy of Russia

A Russian construction worker speaks on a mobile phone during a ceremony marking the start of Nord Stream pipeline construction in Portovaya Bay some 170 kms (106 miles) north-west from St. Petersburg, Russia, on April 9, 2010. Dmitry Lovetsky/AP Photo

Analysis

Countries in Europe that have shifted away from coal in favour of renewables are now vulnerable to electricity price shocks as Russia—the region’s primary natural gas supplier—begins its invasion of Ukraine.