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*[http://www.erec.org European Renewable Energy Council]
*[http://www.erec.org European Renewable Energy Council]
*[http://www.eufores.org European Forum for Renewable Energy Sources]
*[http://www.eufores.org European Forum for Renewable Energy Sources]
*[http://www.fedarene.org European Federation of Regional Energy and Environment Agencies] (FEDARENE).


===In the media===
===In the media===

Revision as of 07:43, 10 September 2008

Proportion of renewable energy in the EU countries, 2004

The countries of the European Union are currently the global leaders in the development and application of renewable energy. Promoting the use of renewable energy sources is important both to the reduction of the EU's dependence on foreign energy imports, and in meeting targets to combat global warming. Germany and the United Kingdom are currently the only members of the EU that are on track to achieve the objectives set by the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.

General European Union Energy policy

Main article: Directive on the Promotion of the use of biofuels and other renewable fuels for transport

The Maastricht Treaty set an objective of promoting stable growth while protecting the environment. The Amsterdam Treaty added the principle of sustainable development to the objectives of the EU. Since 1997, the EU has been working towards a renewable energy supply equivalent to 12% of the total EU's energy consumption by 2010.

The Johannesburg Summit failed to introduce the radical changes targeted for ten years after the Rio Summit. No specific goals were set for the energy sector, which disappointed many countries. While the EU had proposed an annual increase in the use of renewable energy at a rate of 1.5% worldwide until 2010, Johannesburg's action plan did not recommend such a "substantial" increase, with no concrete goals nor dates being set.

The EU was unwilling to accept this result, and with other nations formed a group of "pioneer countries" that promised to establish ambitious national or even regional goals to achieve global targets. The Johannesburg Renewable Energy Coalition (JREC) has a total of more than 80 member countries; the EU members, Brazil, South Africa and New Zealand amongst them.

In the European Conference for Renewable Energy in Berlin in 2004, the EU defined ambitious goals of its own. The conclusion was that by 2020, the EU would seek to obtain 20% of its total energy consumption requirements with renewable energy sources. Up until that point, the EU had only set targets up to 2010, and this proposal was the first to represent the EU's commitment up to 2020.

EU leaders reached agreement in principle in March 2007 that 20 percent of the bloc's energy should be produced from renewable fuels and by 2020 as part of its drive to cut emissions of carbon dioxide. Renewables now account for less than 7 percent of the EU energy mix. In a special report, the European Parliament said that to give the legislation teeth, it should contain binding renewable energy targets for particular sectors -- electricity, heating and transport -- rather than just a general goal. The parliament said it would resist any attempt to treat nuclear energy as a substitute for renewables. [1]

Renewable energy use:
Top 5 EU countries[2]
Country 2005
(%)		 Target by
2020
(%)
Sweden 40 49
Latvia 35 38
Finland 29 38
Austria 23 34
Portugal 21 31

Member states

Main page: Category:Renewable energy in the European Union

Germany

Main article: Renewable energy in Germany

At the end of 2007 renewable energy in Germany provided 14% of Germany's electricity production, with the largest contribution being made by wind power.

Portugal

Main article: Renewable energy in Portugal

In 2001, the Portuguese government launched a new energy policy instrument – the E4 Programme (Energy Efficiency and Endogenous Energies), consisting of a set of multiple, diversified measures aimed at promoting a consistent, integrated approach to energy supply and demand. By promoting energy efficiency and the use of endogenous (renewable) energy sources, the programme seeks to upgrade the competitiveness of the Portuguese economy and to modernize the country’s social fabric, while simultaneously preserving the environment by reducing gas emissions, especially the CO2 responsible for climatic change.[3]

Spain

Main article: Renewable energy in Spain

Spain as a whole has the target of generating 30% of its electricity needs from renewable energy sources by 2010, with half of that amount coming from wind power. In 2006, 20% of the total electricity demand was already produced with renewable energy sources.

Some regions of Spain lead Europe in the use of renewable energy technology and plan to reach 100% renewable energy generation in few years. Castilla y León and Galicia, in particular, are near this goal. In 2006 they fulfilled about 70% of their total electricity demand from renewable energy sources.

If nuclear power is also considered CO2 free, two autonomous communities in Spain have already managed to fulfill their total 2006 electricity demand "free" of CO2 emissions: Extremadura and Castilla-La Mancha[4].

In 2005 Spain became the first country in the world to require the installation of photovoltaic electricity generation in new buildings, and the second in the world (after Israel) to require the installation of solar hot water systems [5].

United Kingdom

Main article: Energy use and conservation in the United Kingdom

By 2004 4.65% of the UK's primary energy requirements were being generated from renewable energy sources (including hydroelectricity), up from 2.55% in 1990. The UK Government energy policy expects that the total contribution from renewables should rise to 10% by 2010.

The prospects for renewable energy in Scotland in particular are significant. Scotland has an estimated potential of 36.5 GW of installed capacity from wind and 7.5 GW from tidal power, 25% of the estimated total capacity for the European Union for both, and up to 14 GW of wave power potential, 10% of EU capacity.[6][7] The Scottish Executive has a target of generating 17% to 18% of Scotland's electricity from renewables by 2010,[8] rising to 40% by 2020.[9]

By Renewable Energy Sectors

Bioenergy

Main article: Bioenergy in the European Union

Wind power

Main article: Wind power in the European Union
Wind farm in Neuenkirchen, Dithmarschen (Germany).

The implementation of wind power is especially widespread in Germany, Spain and Denmark. The results of the investigation carried out by EUWINet (a project financed partly by the European Commission) indicated that the annual median growth of the European wind power market is 35%, and that EU Members contribute around 75% of the world's wind power. Thanks to the growth that has resulted from the use and development of this energy source, the wind power market has helped to generate more than 25,000 jobs within the EU.

The energy policy of the United Kingdom calls for appreciable expansion of wind energy by the year 2010.

Solar power

Main article: Solar power in the European Union

Photovoltaic solar power

Photovoltaic cells in use on top of a building in Berlin.

The need for the strategic development of photovoltaic systems in the EU has led to the creation of PV-NET, a network that gathers representatives from all the sectors of the research and development community concerned with the photovoltaic solar energy industry (see solar cell). The network promotes communication between speakers through the organisation of specialised conferences, workshops and congresses.

This interaction has led to the editing of a waybill, finished in 2003 with the aim of providing a solid basis for EU leaders and European citizens to base their decisions and policy making and in order to help reach the objective set by the European Commission to multiply the use of photovoltaic systems by thirty times by 2010.

In 2002, the world production of photovoltaic modules surpassed 550 MW, of which more than the 50% was produced in the EU. At the end of 2004, 79% of all European capacity was in Germany, where 794 MWp had been installed. The European Commission anticipates that Germany may have installed around 4,500 MWp by 2010. [2].

Portugal has the largest solar power station in the world[3], which was completed in January 2007. The complex, called Serpa solar power plant, covers an area of 60-hectare. The 11-megawatt solar power plant will produce enough electricity for 8,000 homes and save more than 30,000 tons a year in greenhouse gas emissions. Near from there, Moura photovoltaic power station is under construction, which will be even bigger with an installed capacity of 62MWp. The first phase of construction should be finished in 2008, while the project completion is scheduled for 2010.

Solar heating

Main article: Solar heating

Solar heating is the usage of solar energy to provide space or water heating. Worldwide the use was 88 GWthermal (2005). Growth potential is enormous. At present the EU is second after China in the installations. If all EU countries used solar thermal as enthusiastically as the Austrians, the EU’s installed capacity would already be 91 GWth (130 million m2 today, far beyond the target of 100 million m2 by 2010, set by the White Paper in 1997. In 2005 solar heating in the EU was equivalent to more than 686.000 tons of oil. ESTIF’s minimum target is to produce solar heating equivalent to 5.600.000 tons of oil (2020). A more ambitious, but feasible, target is 73 millions tons of oil per year (2020) – a lorry row spanning 1,5 times around the globe!.[10]

Wave power

Pelamis wave energy convetor

Portugal now has the world's first commercial wave farm, the Aguçadora Wave Park near Póvoa de Varzim, established in 2006. The farm will initially use three Pelamis P-750 machines generating 2.25 MW. [4] [5] Initial costs are put at 8.5 million euro. Subject to successful operation, a further 70 million euro is likely to be invested before 2009 on a further 28 machines to generate 525 MW. [6]

Funding for a wave farm in Scotland was announced on February 20, 2007 by the Scottish Executive, at a cost of over 4 million pounds, as part of a £13 million funding packages for marine power in Scotland. The farm will be the world's largest with a capacity of 3MW generated by four Pelamis machines.[11].

Hydrogen fuel

A Mazda RX-8 powered by Hydrogen fuel.

The European Commission is currently sponsoring a practical programme of vehicle trials for battery powered vehicles. The most ambitious projects are the €1 million CUTE (Clean Urban Transport for Europe) scheme and the ECTOS (Ecological City Transport System).

The tests are taking place in the cities of Amsterdam, Barcelona, Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Porto, Reykjavík, Stockholm and Stuttgart. It consists of putting into service public buses, called Citaro, manufactured by DaimlerChrysler.

Statistics

Wind power

EU Wind Energy (MW) [12][13][14]
No Country 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001
1 Germany 22,247 20,622 18,415 16,629 14,609 11,994 8,754
2 Spain 15,145 11,615 10,028 8,263 6,203 4,825 3,337
3 Denmark 3,125 3,140 3,136 3,117 3,110 2,880 2,489
4 Italy 2,726 2,123 1,718 1,255 913 797 690
5 France 2,454 1 567 757 386 239 145 93
6 UK 2,389 1,963 1,353 888 648 552 474
7 Portugal 2,150 1,716 1,022 522 299 194 131
8 Netherlands 1,746 1,560 1,219 1,078 912 688 486
9 Austria 982 965 819 606 415 139 94
10 Greece 871 746 573 465 375 276 272
Top ten 46,017 39,040 33,209 27,723 22,490 16,820
No Country 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001
11 Ireland 805 745 496 339 191 137 124
12 Sweden 788 572 510 442 399 345 293
13 Belgium 287 193 167 95 68 35 32
14 Poland 276 152 83 63 30 5 18
18 Czech Republic 116 50 28 17 9
15 Finland 110 86 82 82 52 43 39
16 Hungary 65 61 18 6 3 1 1
17 Lithuania 50 56 6 7 0 0 0
19 Luxembourg 35 35 35 35 22 17 15
20 Bulgaria 70 36 10 1 0 0 0
21 Estonia 58 32 32 6 2 2 0
22 Latvia 27 27 27 26 26 1 1
24 Romania 8 3 2 1 0 0 0
23 Slovakia 5 5 5 5 3 0 0
25 Slovenia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
26 Cyprus 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
27 Malta 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
EU27 (MW) 56,535 48,069 40,541 34,334 28,528 23,076 17,343
Total offshore 1,088 878
28 Norway 333 314 267 160 101
30 Turkey 146 51 20
29 Ukraine 89 86 77
31 Switzerland 12 12 12
Europe (MW) 57,136 48,563 40,898

Photovoltaics

PV in Europe(MWp)[15]
No Country 2006 2005
1 Germany 3 063 1 910
2 Spain 118.1 57.6
3 Italy 57.9 46.3
4 Netherlands 51.2 50.8
5 France 32.7 26.3
6 Austria 29.0 24.0
7 Luxembourg 23.6 23.6
8 UK 13.6 10.9
9 Greece 6.7 5.4
10 Sweden 4.9 4.2
11 Belgium 4.2 2.1
12 Finland 4.1 4.0
13 Portugal 3.5 3.0
14 Denmark 2.9 2.7
15 Cyprus 1.0 0.5
16 Czech Rep. 0.8 0.5
17 Poland 0.4 0.3
18 Slovenia 0.4 0.2
19 Ireland 0.3 0.3
20 Hungary 0.2 0.2
21 Slovakia 0.1 0.1
22 Malta 0.1 0.1
23 Lithuania 0.1 0.1
EU27 GWp 3.42 2.17

Solar heating

Solar heating in Europe* (kWth)[16]
Land Total
kWth 		2006 2005 2004
Germany 5 637 800 1 050 000 665 000 525 000
Greece 2 301 040 168 000 154 350 150 500
Austria 1 828 139 204 868 163 429 127 816
Italy 598 661 130 200 88 941 68 417
Spain 491 516 122 500 74 760 63 000
France 430 920 154 000 85 050 36 400
Cyprus 392 140 42 000 35 000 21 000
Switzerland 310 484 36 304 27 392 21 812
Denmark 253 596 17 710 14 875 14 000
Netherlands 222 909 10 280 14 174 18 410
UK 175 644 37 800 19 600 17 500
Sweden 165 850 19 977 15 835 14 041
Portugal 126 665 14 000 11 200 7 000
Poland 117 264 28 980 19 390 20 230
Slovenia 76 510 4 830 3 360 1 260
Czech Republic 74 711 15 421 10 885 8 575
Belgium 72 883 24 945 14 164 10 290
Slovakia 50 925 5 950 5 250 3 850
Romania 48 370 280 280 280
Bulgaria 17 570 1 540 1 400 1 260
Malta 16 702 3 150 2 800 2 951
Finland 11 545 2 380 1 668 1 141
Luxembourg 11 130 1 750 1 330 1 190
Ireland 11 053 3 500 2 450 1 400
Hungary 4 375 700 700 1 050
Latvia 2 695 840 700 350
Lithuania 1 925 420 350 350
Estonia 784 210 175 175
EU27+CH
GWth 		13.45 2.10 1.43 1.14
* = The relation between collector area and capacity: m2 = 0.7 kWthermal

Biofuels

Biofuels[17]
Consumption 2006 (GWh) Consumption 2005 (GWh)
No Country Total Biodiesel Bioethanol Total Biodiesel Bioethanol
1 Germany* 38 887 28 005 3 573 21 703 18 003 1 682
2 France 7 932 6 185 1 747 4 874 4 003 871
3 Austria 3 201 3 201 0 920 920 0
4 Sweden* 2 716 597 1 895 1 938 97 1 681
5 Spain 2 064 732 1 332 1 583 270 1 314
6 Italy 2 059 2 059 0 2 059 2 000 59
7 UK 2 055 1 494 561 793 292 502
8 Poland 1 102 491 611 481 152 329
9 Greece 809 809 0 32 32 0
10 Portugal 678 678 0 2 2 0
19 Finland 9 nd 9 0 0 0
27 EU 62 526 44 766 10 210 34 796 26 110 6 481
*Total includes vegetable oils in Germany: 7309 GWh (2006) and 2018 GWh (2005) and biogas in Sweden: 225 GWh (2006) and 160 GWh (2005)

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Renewable energy in the European Union.

Organizations

In the media

References

  1. ^ News and Official EP resolution of 25 September 2007 on the Road Map for Renewable Energy in Europe
  2. ^ World's biggest solar farm at centre of Portugal's ambitious energy plan
  3. ^ Portugal, PV technology status and prospects - Contribution to the Annual report 2002
  4. ^ [1] Red Eléctrica de España Annual Report 2006
  5. ^ Layout 1
  6. ^ RSPB Scotland, WWF Scotland and FOE Scotland (February 2006) The Power of Scotland: Cutting Carbon with Scotland's Renewable Energy. RSPB et al.
  7. ^ A Scottish Energy Review (November 2005) Scottish National Party Framework Paper. Edinburgh.
  8. ^ Scotland Gov. News Dec
  9. ^ Scotland Gov. News 2003
  10. ^ Solar Thermal Action Plan for Europe ESTIF, 1/2007
  11. ^ BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Orkney to get 'biggest' wave farm
  12. ^ Global Wind 2006 Report Global Wind Energy Council GWEG
  13. ^ European Wind Energy Association EWEA
  14. ^ Wind power installed in Europe by end of 2007 (cumulative) EWEA 5.2.2008
  15. ^ Photovoltaic energy barometer 2007 - EurObserv’ER Systèmes solaires Le journal des énergies renouvelables n° 178, s. 49-70, 4/2007
  16. ^ Solar Thermal Markets in Europe, Trends and market statistics 2006 European Solar Thermal Industry Federation ESTIF, June 2007
  17. ^ Biofuels barometer 2007 - EurObserv’ER Systèmes solaires Le journal des énergies renouvelables n° 179, s. 63-75, 5/2007
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