EREC: European Commission lacks concrete proposals for renewable energy funding

7 October 2009

The European Commission’s financing proposal for low carbon technologies estimating additional funding needs for a wide range of energy technologies of approximately €50bn over the next ten years. The proposal was welcomed by the European Renewable Energy Council, though the Council said that the proposals lacked specific targets.

Implementing EU industrial initiatives, evolving from the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan), would mean co-financing from the industry, member states and the EU.

Arthouros Zervos, president of the EREC said, ‘The European Renewable Energy Industry welcomes the communication and the fact that the Commission has finally expressed funding needs for energy research, development and demonstration in numbers.’ He added, ‘However, EREC regrets that the Commission did not table concrete proposals for the allocation of EU funds.’

EREC, the European Renewable Energy Council, is the umbrella organisation of the major European renewable energy industry, trade and research associations active in the field of photovoltaics, small hydropower, solar thermal, bioenergy, ocean & marine, geothermal, wind energy, solar thermal electricity and biofuels. It represents an industry with an annual turnover of more than €45bn and more than 450,000 employees.

Zervos highlighted that the current funding proposal has left out renewable energy heating and cooling as well as certain renewable electricity technologies. He said, ‘Leaving technologies like geothermal and solar thermal or small hydropower and ocean cnergy out of the current portfolio is a missed opportunity – both in terms of security of energy supply and diversification of the energy mix.’

According to the EREC, the SET-Plan as proposed by the commission in November 2007 identified a number of technological challenges that have to be tackled at EU level.

Zervos said, ‘We need a common European approach in order to maximise the results of our efforts and to maintain Europe’s leadership on world markets. EREC therefore strongly supports joint action as proposed in today`s Communication.’ He added, ‘The integration of renewable energy in the urban environment, be it in transportation, in the grid system or in buildings is of utmost importance to tackle energy poverty and to reduce the EU´s carbon footprint.’

He added, ‘Enhanced funding for R&D&D in renewable energy technologies is not only important for meeting the EU´s 2020 commitments, but to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 per cent and making renewable energy the mainstream source of EU energy supply by 2050.’

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Tags: policy

This story was published on Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 at 5:42 pm and is filed under Europe, energy efficiency, policy. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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