Articles related to "EU renewable energy policy"

The European Commission said on Thursday (29 November) it was investigating the possibility Germany's new renewables energy law is leading to the misuse of incentives and exemptions.

France's government begins a review of the world's most nuclear-dependent country's energy policy on Friday (14 September), strongly in support of its small and ailing renewables sector in an effort to boost local jobs and growth.

Europe’s offshore wind capacity soared by 50% in the first half of 2012, compared to a year before, figures from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) show.

Europe should focus on cutting carbon emissions instead of just repeating the existing EU green policy targets which expire at the end of the decade, Britain's energy and climate chief Edward Davey told a global energy and environment summit.

Britain launched on Thursday a £20 million (€24 million) contest to support up to two pilot wave energy projects, as the government hopes to scale up the clean technology to power more homes and businesses and curb carbon emissions.

Local representatives and energy solution providers have called on the EU to pay attention to rural areas' energy needs and help them move towards less carbon-intensive energy solutions.

The European Commission has put its full weight behind a new target to raise the share of renewables in the continent's energy mix by 2030.

The European Commission adopted a proposal on Wednesday (3 November) to give four billion euros of funding to cutting-edge climate technologies such as renewable energies and carbon capture and storage (CCS).

The European Commission is looking into mechanisms to boost public acceptance of renewable energy projects to meet its climate goals, but behavioural scientists warn that obvious solutions like individual compensation do not always work.

Renewable energy is set to make up nearly two-thirds of new electricity generation capacity installed in the EU over the next decade, according to new estimates by the European Commission.

More than half of all new electricity capacity added in the United States and Europe last year was from renewable power such as wind and solar, a body backed by the International Energy Agency and the UN reported.

The vast majority of EU member states will deliver their national renewable energy action plans (NREAPs) late as only two had landed on the European Commission's desk by midday yesterday (30 June), the day of the deadline.

The EU could cut its emissions by more than 90% by 2050 by moving to produce all its energy from renewable sources, according to the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC), an industry group.

Europe could meet at least 80% of its energy needs from renewables by 2050 without paying more for electricity than it would by continuing with current fossil-fuel based infrastructure, according to a new report by the European Climate Foundation (ECF).

Due to its heavy reliance on coal, Poland is often referred to as the country with the greatest potential for green energy. However, the country still lags behind its European partners in clean tech investment, EurActiv Poland reports.

Companies investing in renewables in the Czech Republic say the country's EU accession provided a major boost for green businesses. However, they complained of a "huge administrative burden" and favouritism of certain technologies. EurActiv Czech Republic reports.

Most EU member states are confident that they will be able to ramp up the production of renewable energies to meet their 2020 production targets, according to national forecast documents submitted to the European Commission.

The UK government gave on Friday (8 January) its green light to the construction of nine new offshore wind farms, which would see Europe's capacity multiply and bring the UK closer to meeting its renewable energy targets.

Grid operators and utilities on Tuesday (24 November) said planned expansion of Spain's booming renewable energy sources must be matched by raised output from gas-fired plants, which can cover emergency shortfalls.

Bulgaria plans to boost its power efficiency and support green energy to fight climate change and achieve European Union environment targets, Economy and Energy Minister Traicho Traikov said on Monday (23 November).

Sweden and Norway have agreed to establish a common market for green electricity certificates, the countries' energy ministers announced yesterday (7 September).

Yesterday's (23 July) announcement by French electricity giant EDF that it will build the country's largest solar manufacturing plant signalled France's bid to become one of the world's leading solar markets.

The European Commission yesterday (30 June) adopted a template for national renewable energy action plans (NREAPS), requiring member states to detail how they intend to reach their national targets for the share of renewables in their energy mix.

Photovoltaic power (PV) could meet up to 12% of Europe's electricity demand by 2020 if a favourable policy framework were established to support it in the coming years, according to a new study by the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA).

Europe's electricity industry yesterday (19 May) called on regulators to increase their incentive to develop and commercialise smart grid technologies.

The European Commission insists that the EU's new Renewable Energy Directive gives it sufficient power to ensure national compliance, after it admitted that the Union is unlikely to meet its goal of sourcing 12% of its energy from renewables in 2010.

A Romanian scheme that grants double incentives for wind farms and other renewable energy projects has been acclaimed by large investors in the region. But Rod Christie, GE Energy's president for Eastern Europe and Russia, warns that financing difficulties had risked bringing some projects to a standstill. He spoke to EurActiv in an interview.

Wind, biomass, water, solar and geothermal energies will together represent a 47% share of Germany's total electricity consumption by 2020, according to the country's renewable energy agency.

The Renewables Directive agreed in December will provide incentives to develop wind energy by forcing new legislation in all 27 member states, Christian Kjaer, chief executive of the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), told EurActiv in an interview.

EU governments and the European Parliament have agreed a far-reaching new directive to boost EU renewable energy use to 20% by 2020, following a compromise struck with Italy over a controversial 'review clause'.

EU countries and the European Parliament are "tantalisingly close" to a compromise agreeement on legislation to promote renewable energy, but the French EU Presidency is stalling the negotiations, according to the European Parliament's rapporteur on the dossier, Green MEP Claude Turmes.

The European Commission is promoting offshore wind energy development as part of its Second Strategic Energy Review, released in Brussels yesterday (13 November).  Endorsement by Brussels comes hot on the heels of massive growth in the sector.

50% of global electricity supplies will need to come from renewable energy sources by the middle of the century if mankind is to avert the most serious effects of climate change, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The European Parliament's Industry and Energy Committee today (11 September) looks set to approve a cross-party compromise reaffirming binding targets for renewables and on the use of biofuels in transport.

With an offshore wind plan due from the European Commission in the autumn, environmental campaigners at Greenpeace have presented a study showing that the construction of 10,000 offshore wind turbines in the North Sea could be feasible if supported by a mega electricity grid.

The solar energy sector is growing in momentum across Europe thanks to feed-in tariffs, which are helping to boost development activities, according to a study by an American consulting firm.

As employment in the fossil fuel sector declines, more and more people are finding work in the renewable energy sector and related professions, with the number of 'green jobs' expected to swell considerably in the coming years, says a new study. 

As fuel prices for coal, natural gas and nuclear continue to rise, the cost of solar power is due to break even with fossil fuels in the US by 2015, according to a study published in June 2008.

Germany, the UK and Poland are proposing new flexibility mechanisms to help reach EU renewable energy targets, while Italy is demanding a new method be used to calculate countries' renewables potential. Rome is also pushing for a reduction of the EU's 10% biofuels target.

Engineers at the University of California, San Diego have demonstrated that nanoparticles can increase the efficiency with which sunlight can be converted into electricity in thin-film photovoltaics, opening new prospects for solar electricity.

The Commission's proposal to boost EU renewable energy use to 20% by 2020 is fuelling disagreements between energy traders and member states over the best regime for promoting renewables trading without undermining existing national support schemes.

Europe's wind sector has enjoyed impressive growth in recent years, but even more effort is needed to boost one of the EU's most promising sources of renewable energy in order to realise the EU's energy policy ambitions, according to EU Research Commissioner Janez Potočnik.

Now that the political commitments by EU leaders to achieve a 20% share of renewable energy use by 2020 have been translated into binding targets for individual member states, a debate is heating up in Brussels about how, and if, the targets can actually be met. 

The European Commission put forward ambitious targets yesterday (23 January) to boost the EU's overall consumption of renewable energies to 20% by 2020. But while the plans to promote technologies such as solar and wind were largely welcomed, Brussels faces widespread criticism over controversial biofuels targets.

Member states will be authorised to meet their national renewable energy targets using green power certificates bought from other EU countries under plans being considered by the European Commission. The scheme could even be extended to countries outside the EU.

An early draft of an upcoming Commission proposal to increase the use of renewables in final EU energy consumption includes guidelines for establishing individual national targets, provisions for mandatory use of certificates for renewables trading and sustainability criteria for biofuels production.

The minimum contribution of individual member states to EU renewable energy targets could be calculated on the basis of gross domestic product, according to recent comments by the Commission, which is preparing new legislation on renewables. 

The Commission has confirmed that an important package of legislative measures necessary for meeting Europe's climate change targets, including the promotion of renewable energies, will be delayed until at least mid-January.

The Parliament has voted by a large majority in favour of setting binding sectoral renewables targets at EU level, setting the stage for a potential clash with member states. The Commission is due to present a proposal for further legislation on renewable energies in December.

The naysayers have it wrong: Europe can easily achieve a 20% share for renewables in its energy mix, nuclear can be phased out and second-generation biofuels technologies will arrive in time to meet bioenergy targets sustainably, according to Oliver Schäfer, of the European Renewable Energy Council.  

The biogas sector is growing rapidly amid increasing concerns about oil and gas prices and climate change, according to a new report prepared by a consortium of renewable energy groups. 

A report from the United Nations Environment Programme reveals an increase in sustainable-energy investment of 43% between 2005 and 2006, and a similar continued growth trajectory so far in 2007.

BusinessEurope, the Confederation of European Business, has questioned the EU's target of achieving a 20% share of renewables in the EU's energy mix by 2020, as agreed during the European Council of 8-9 March. It considers the target unreachable and cites industry concerns about the security of energy supply.

The wind-energy sector claims that it can contribute up to 16% of Europe's electricity generation by 2020, up from around 3% at present, participants heard at the opening of a major wind-energy conference in Milano.

An interactive map allowing exact calculation of the solar electricity potential of any given location in Europe and its neighbouring regions will help determine each member state's share of solar power in the EU's overall 20% EU renewables target.

Officials said that the Commission was still unsure about how it will share the burden among member states, after EU leaders agreed earlier in March to have 20% of their overall energy needs covered by renewables by 2020.

As EU leaders prepare to make unprecedented commitments to cut greenhouse-gas emissions at a summit this week, divisions have emerged over whether to recognise nuclear as a low-carbon source, alongside wind power and other 'green' energies.

Energy ministers agreed to raise biofuels use to a minimum of 10% by 2020 but rejected an EU-wide binding target for renewables, leaving it to member states to decide on specific objectives at national level.

Renewable energy can deliver half of the world's primary energy needs by 2050, according to a report produced by the European Renewable Energy Council and Greenpeace.

By 2020, the EU should reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% and produce 25% of its primary energy through renewables, according to a report adopted by the European Parliament on 14 December.

Ministers agreed to pursue efforts on renewable energies but countries such as France refuse new binding targets until priority is placed on low-carbon sources, including nuclear, to achieve overarching climate goals.

Led by industry and supported by the EU, the new technology platform will seek to map out priorities for wind-energy research up to 2030 and to direct funding into targeted areas such as offshore wind and grid integration.

Environmentalists have pointed the finger at the Commission for telling Luxembourg that the guaranteed price it pays in support of renewable energies is creating market distortions.

The Commission has launched legal action against several EU countries for failing to transpose directives on electricity generation from renewables and biofuels in transport.

Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs has promised to table a proposal for a new directive on renewable energies for heating and cooling before the end of 2006 after a massive show of support in the European Parliament.

The Commission's Biomass Action Plan should reduce oil imports by 8%, prevent greenhouse gas emissions of 209 million tons CO2-equivalent per year and create up to 300,000 new job. Too good to be true?

On 7 December, Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs will present a biomass action plan that aims at doubling the use of biomass energy for transport, electricity and heating by 2010 and quadrupling it by 2030.

On the eve of the eagerly awaited Commission communication on national support schemes for renewable energies, a multi-stakeholder Task Force has argued for support to continue until at least 2015.

The WWF has published a study ranking the EU's 30 most polluting power stations. Twenty seven of them are coal-fired, many of which will soon be phased out.

Although far behind the energy sector, agriculture - and livestock in particular - is the second single largest source of man-made greenhouse gas emissions in the EU-25.

EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs has presented a 3.7 million euro campaign to raise public awareness of the EU's policies for developing sustainable energy technologies.

Environmental campaigners at Greenpeace have teamed up with renewable energy producers to call for a phase-out of subsidies in fossil fuels and nuclear to allow renewable energies to develop.

A survey from the German Energy Agency on how to integrate wind energy into electricity distribution networks is creating unease. Energy-efficient housing, an official says, would bring cheaper CO2 emissions cuts than expensive wind farms.

The increasing share of wind power in Germany and Spain is posing new challenges to electricity transmission in Europe. Industry forecasts point to bottlenecks blocking the full potential of electricity from being tapped.

EU support for renewable energy currently "suffers from fragmented, uncoordinated national policies", writes Sheldon Welton for the think tank Notre Europe.

This report, issued by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris, pays attention to the role that renewable-energy technologies can play in a ‘clean, clever, and competitive energy future’.