Fuel crisis: what if the answer is on the roof?
The Saudi crude cut to Europe has sent diesel and petrol prices soaring. A delivery-van example shows how much oil dependence costs and what role solar, batteries and electrification can play.
Filling a diesel van's tank in Spain costs about €104 today. A year ago it cost €77. That is €27 more every visit to the pump, and that is with the 20-cent-per-litre tax cut the government is applying this month.
What is happening
In September, a drone attack damaged Saudi Arabia's main oil pipeline, the one that carries crude to the Red Sea. Aramco told several European refineries they would not receive their October cargoes. This adds to what was already there: tanker traffic through Hormuz almost halted by the Middle East conflict, Russian refineries out of service and less imported diesel across Europe.
The result:
- France has had around 17% of its filling stations struggling to supply at least one fuel, with diesel above €2.40/l. Spanish hauliers now fill up before crossing the border.
- Spain is coping better thanks to its refining capacity and 90 days of strategic reserves, but it imports virtually all the crude it uses. Supply is secured; the price is not.
- By mid-October, diesel stands at around €1.89/l and petrol at €1.79/l, after reaching or exceeding €1.90.
What comes next
The tax cut drops from 20 cents in October to 13 in November and 6 in December, unless oil spikes again. In other words, even if crude calms down, a litre could rise by 14 cents by year-end just because the relief is withdrawn. And the rise does not stay at the pump: transport makes groceries, fishing, farming and anything shipped by lorry more expensive.
An example with numbers
A company with one delivery van covering 25,000 km a year at 8 litres per 100 km:
| Item | A year ago | Today |
|---|---|---|
| Litres per year | 2,000 l | 2,000 l |
| Diesel price | ~€1.40/l | ~€1.89/l |
| Annual fuel spend | ~€2,800 | ~€3,780 |
Almost €1,000 more per van without driving a single extra kilometre. With a fleet of ten, that is €10,000 a year hanging on what happens to a pipeline 5,000 km away.
The same van in electric form uses about 20 kWh per 100 km, around 5,000 kWh a year:
| How it is charged | Indicative energy cost | Annual spend |
|---|---|---|
| Grid, business tariff | ~€0.15/kWh | ~€750 |
| Own solar panels + battery | ~€0.05–0.07/kWh | ~€250–350 |
Indicative figures, excluding the cost of the vehicle, charger and installation. They show the order of magnitude, not a decision.
Why flexible renewables
Solar panels alone are not enough. The sun produces at midday, the van charges at night; the warehouse uses power first thing and the heating comes on at dusk. What turns solar into a real alternative to oil is flexibility:
- Batteries: store midday energy for when it is needed.
- Loads that can be shifted: charging vehicles, heating water or running climate control when energy is cheapest or self-generated.
- Electrifying what burns fuel today: fleets, forklifts, boilers, irrigation pumps.
Here Spain has an edge. In 2021, gas set the electricity price in more than half of all hours; in the first months of 2026, only around 9%, thanks to the growth of wind and solar. While oil depends on Hormuz and the Red Sea, much of our electricity depends on the sun and wind we have here.
Conclusion
This crisis will pass, as the 2022 one did. But each one leaves the same lesson: what you burn is bought abroad at whatever price applies. What you generate and store yourself has a known cost for 25 years. It is not about changing everything tomorrow, but about starting with what weighs most on the bill: measuring fuel and electricity spend, seeing what can be electrified, and sizing solar and storage to cover it. That analysis is exactly the starting point.
Sources: EU Oil Bulletin (data published 15/10/2026), Spanish Ministry of Finance (Royal Decree-law of 29/09/2026), Ember (June 2026 report), French government statements reported in the press (22/09/2026).