Evaluation of the energy production and innovation economic activities of the wind and solar energy sectors of European countries

Many European countries have a zero-emission country target by 2050. Reducing emissions in the electricity sector will play an important role in achieving this goal. This study was conducted with Super Efficient Output-Oriented Data Envelopment Analysis. Two most developed renewable energy sources namely wind and solar in European countries were studied with regards to generation efficiencies for European countries' wind and solar sectors. The results show that Slovenia, Spain, Croatia and Bulgaria use their existing resources more efficiently in generating electricity from solar. Therefore, it can be suggested that for these countries, priority should be given to solar energy development. In Northern European countries, solar energy investment and operating costs should be kept under control. The foreign trade balance has turned seriously negative throughout 2021 and 2022, especially in the solar sector. In solar energy, the most effective countries in terms of R&D efficiency are Poland, Slovakia, Sweden and Spain, while in wind energy, Poland and Turkey were the most efficient ones. The leading country in innovation economic activity in solar energy is Netherlands while in wind the leader is Denmark, the world leader in wind turbine manufacturing. According to the study, apart from the large European countries with mature solar and wind energy markets, countries with newly emerging markets which manage to apply for more patents with smaller budgets and limited human resources can also be efficient in R&D and innovation.