September 17, 2008

Renewables: national targets, grid access & buildings


The European Parliament's (EP) Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) has overwhelmingly adopted a report on a Commission proposal to boost the share of renewables in final energy consumption to 20% by 2020 – thereby paving the way for massive investment in renewables.
The Commission plans for a directive to boost the role of renewable sources in overall EU energy use to 20% by 2020 included individual Member State targets. The EP report has tightened up and bolstered this with the addition of interim goals to plot progress over the course of the next decade.
‘Flexibility mechanisms’ will also allow for joint cross-border renewables investments and projects whose outputs would count towards these targets. This is timely as the Commission is due to present an action plan on offshore wind this autumn, as part of a wider EU Strategic Energy Review which will include recommendations on how to coordinate Member States' efforts to realise large-scale offshore wind projects.
The importance of meeting national commitments is underlined in the report by penalties of up to €110 per megawatt (mw) for underperformance whereas surplus production would be rewarded to the tune of €30 to €40 per mw. These issues will shortly go before the Council and it is expected that Member States will back the main substance of the EP decision.
Two further issues for discussion between national governments arising from the report are how to give renewable energies priority access to existing electricity and gas infrastructure/grids (something currently being debated by Ireland’s Commission for Energy Regulation); and prospective new national rules to promote, or oblige, the use of renewable technologies in new and existing buildings.
Commission renewable energy site: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/res/index_en.htm

Posted by iroronan at September 17, 2008 06:52 PM