The effects of renewable energy on energy security in the transition to green energy: an empirical application

In today's world, where energy demand is swelling, access to energy resources and the sustainable use of these scarce resources have become crucial. The fact that these resources are not available in sufficient quantities in all countries, that their distribution or transmission costs are high, that their reserves are gradually diminishing, and above all, carbon-based energy resources cause severe damage to the environment and human health, leading to the need for new means of energy production. In addition, it has long been recognized that energy supply disruptions due to geopolitical problems, natural disasters, or temporary economic events have far-reaching negative economic and social impacts on energy-importing countries and stern adverse effects on producer and transit countries due to loss of income. The European Union (EU) and Turkey are among the most vulnerable countries/groups due to their high dependence on energy imports and insufficient energy reserves. This dependence on imported energy makes European countries and Turkey susceptible to supply disruptions, as seen during the Arab Spring in 2011 when political instability led to a drop in oil and gas imports from Libya. In addition, the production and consumption of fossil fuels and nuclear energy threaten human health and quality of life. Fossil fuels and nuclear energy usage are closely linked to environmental degradation, which affects ecological balance and biodiversity. It is, therefore, clear that there should be a global focus on meeting the rapidly growing global demand for energy without causing irreparable environmental damage and using energy systems that do not endanger the lives of present and future generations. In this context, renewable energy sources are seen as having the potential to provide energy services that use indigenous resources, do not pollute the air, and have near-zero greenhouse gas emissions. This study aims to determine whether the production of renewable energy sources has the potential to significantly reduce the energy security risk in the European Union countries and Turkey during the transition to green energy. In this context, the study investigated the effects of renewable energy sources (wind, solar, hydroelectricity, biomass, and waste) on energy security using panel data techniques. Estimation results with homogenous coefficients for the entire panel show that while biomass and waste energy sources increase the risk to energy security, hydroelectric energy sources can reduce the energy security risk of some European Union countries and Turkey. When the analysis was repeated, allowing heterogeneous coefficients for each country, the results showed that the signs, magnitudes, and significances changed for selected European countries and Turkey.