Tag: renewables

One of the priorities of the EU's new 'Europe 2020' strategy is green growth: the goal is to reduce CO2 emissions and energy consumption by 20% and increase the share of renewables in the bloc's energy mix to 20%. For Hungary, the biggest challenge will be renewable energy, reports EurActiv.hu.

Italy's renewable electricity sector is growing at a pace that would put the country on course to meet its 2020 renewable energy goals, Francesco Starace, chairman of Enel Green Power, told EurActiv in an interview.

Ireland's power system can handle 40% renewable electricity, but higher levels of wind power pose challenges to grid stability, a new technical analysis has shown.

Europe has put in place legislation to promote renewable energies but is now faced with the challenge of integrating increasing amounts of intermittent power sources like solar and wind into the electricity grid, running the risk of destabilising it.

The length of time wind farm developers must wait to receive building permits varies wildly from one EU country to another, jeopardising the bloc's chances of meeting its 2020 renewables goal, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) said yesterday (22 April).

Biogas has become an attractive alternative source of energy in Europe as the renewable fuel serves several policy priorities, ranging from increased domestic energy production to the reduction of greenhouse gases and more efficient waste treatment.

As most renewable energies are still more expensive than fossil fuels, a variety of support schemes have been put in place to accelerate their uptake and meet the EU's goal of sourcing 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.

Europe will need to invest up to 28 billion euros in electricity infrastructure over the next five years to secure its key energy goals, including integrating renewable energies into the grid, Konstantin Staschus, secretary-general of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), told EurActiv in an interview.

Slovakia may seem to have been a late starter in developing renewable and green energies, but its economic players are catching up, using research as an instrument to promote cutting-edge technologies. EurActiv Slovakia reports.

The European Commission yesterday (25 February) ruled out binding EU-wide sustainability criteria for biomass, offering member states recommendations for national action instead.

Hungary could have become the second EU member state after the UK to pass an overarching climate framework bill. But the ruling socialist party backed down on Monday (22 February) citing job concerns after heavy pressure from the industrial lobby. EurActiv Hungary reports.

The EU could be powered almost entirely by renewable energies in 2050 without power disruptions by adding intelligence to its existing grids and building new cross-border connections, according to a study by Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC), an industry group.

Italy has been one of Europe's forerunners in implementing smart metering systems to help households keep track of their electricity consumption, says Livio Gallo of Enel in an interview with EurActiv.

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.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects will likely be first to benefit from funding out of the EU emissions trading scheme (EU ETS), with support for renewables to follow later, a draft European Commission proposal suggests.

The EU – and Germany in particular – is an uncontested world leader in solar power. But the fledgling technology relies heavily on public money to bring down costs and with the economic turmoil EU countries are now having second thoughts about costly subsidy schemes.

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.

Renewable energy could spearhead regional market integration in Europe if member states were to take advantage of the cooperation mechanisms in EU renewables legislation, Eurelectric President Lars Josefsson told Euractiv in an interview.

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.

Analysing economic recovery measures in over 30 countries, experts at HSBC bank found that the US and China are putting more money into stimulating green growth. EurActiv spoke to Nick Robins, head of climate change at HSBC, in an interview.

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

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 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.

Joint efforts to expand worldwide use of renewable energies recently received a boost as countries from all continents team up to support the establishment of an International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).