At a lunch debate organised by the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) on âThe costs of a low level of ambition in greening the heating and cooling sectorâ and hosted by EUFORES President MEP Jeppe Kofod on 30 January, representatives from industry, civil society, the European Commission (EC) and MEPs from several countries and political groups (Jeppe Kofod, Bendt Bendtsen, Theresa Griffin, Jo Leinen, Gesine Meissner and Paul RĂŒbig) … [Read more...]
Why EU renewable energy figures are misleading: Europe requires 150% renewable energy to become fossil-free
The EU is confident it will reach its target of 20% renewable energy by 2020. But according to Martien Visser, professor at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen (The Netherlands), this 20% is in reality more like 14%. This is because a large part of our energy consumption is simply ignored in the calculations for renewable energy. âEven with 100% renewables, we would still need a lot of fossil fuelsâ, Visser notes. … [Read more...]
Europeâs energy investment crisis: âthe EU energy market needs a makeoverâ
Europeâs electricity market, which has some of the highest renewable energy shares in the world, is suffering from a profound investment crisis. Sonja van Renssen spoke with top experts from government, business and academia about the causes and possible solutions. Conclusion: âtinkering around the edgesâ wonât do - âa complete makeoverâ of Europeâs market design is needed. Courtesy of World Energy Focus. … [Read more...]
Record increase renewables in Europe, but emissions stay level
2015 saw a record 2.5% increase in renewables generation in Europe, which now makes up 29% of total European electricity supply,reports UK think tank Sandbag. However, as a result of lower output from hydropower and nuclear power stations, the amount of fossil fuel generation barely changed. CO2-emissions from the power sector fell only 0.5% after a 7.5% fall in 2014, but according to Sandbag this year will see a rapid fall again. … [Read more...]
What the EU did in Paris – and what it should do next
A âlifelineâ for the planet that âwill steer the world towards a global clean energy transitionâ, was how European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker hailed the Paris agreement. He also claimed it to be âa success for the European Unionâ itself. But the EU must now demonstrate that aspiration can be turned into achievement through action rather than words, writes Professor Sam Adelman of the University of Warwick. … [Read more...]
Buying Vattenfallâs lignite business could be a risky bet
Vattenfall is currently looking for a buyer for its German lignite assets. However, any potential investor faces a high risk that they will find themselves forced to wind down the business before earning back their investment, write Julian Schwartzkopff and Sabrina Schulz of international environmental organisation E3G. In this article, a shortened version of their new report Vattenfallâs Lignite Business â a Risky Bet for Investors, they explain … [Read more...]
Are EU leaders about to shy away from effective climate and energy governance?
On 26 November the EU's Energy Ministers will decide on a new climate and energy governance mechanism. This will be crucial to delivering the outcomes that these leaders agreed on last year in climate and energy policy. However, the draft of the Energy Councilâs Conclusions, already published on 30 September, is a cause for concern, writes Oliver Sartor of the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI). Sartor … [Read more...]
Four reasons Jeremy Corbynâs innovative energy policy is no 80s throwback
What would be the energy policy of a UK Labour government under Jeremy Corbyn, its newly elected leader? Citing Corbynâs recently published manifesto, Protecting Our Planet, Stephen Hall, Research Fellow at the University of Leeds, argues that it would be anything but a throwback to the past. On the contrary, it meets the issues of today in innovative and practical ways. … [Read more...]
EU electricity market redesign: a protean moment
The EU is on the verge of a full redesign of its electricity market. Market rules need to be updated to the reality of a much more decentralised system where renewables and the consumer are king. This is the essential next step in the European energy transition. It is an opportunity for policymakers to shape the future. What will they do? Based on leaked documents and conversations with Brussels insiders, Sonja van Renssen explains what choices … [Read more...]
Dimitri Pescia, Agora Energiewende: “No more baseload in 2030, no case for new nuclear in Europe”
There will be no more baseload power in Germany in 2030 and possibly not anywhere in Europe. There is no business case for new nuclear power in Europe. Renewables, not thermal power, should get capacity payments - and be responsible for balancing. These are some of the explosive messages from a new report from the influential German think tank Agora Energiewende, which represents government, industry and NGO's. In an exclusive interview with … [Read more...]
Brussels, donât leave customer participation in the electricity market to the incumbents!
Consumer participation in the electricity market is essential to make the energy transition possible. However, writes Philip Baker of the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), a think-tank specializing in regulatory and market policy, incumbent suppliers cannot be relied upon to make this happen. Â Therefore, the European Commission needs to ensure that new players can enter the market. … [Read more...]
Europeâs energy revolution marches on: one-third of power supply now renewable
Fully one-third of electricity produced in Europe last year came from renewable energy, reports ENTSO-E (the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity). Four years ago this was just 24%. The increased share of renewables has come at the expense of fossil fuels. âThere is a revolution taking placeâ, says Susanne Nies, Corporate Affairs Manager at ENTSO-E. … [Read more...]
Danish offshore wind: itâs getting better all the time
Denmark continues to set the pace in driving down the cost of offshore wind. In its latest tender for 350 MW of near-shore wind farms the maximum price has again been reduced. Danish offshore wind now costs roughly half of what the new nuclear plant at Hinkley in the UK will cost. … [Read more...]
Limits of the âEnergy Unionâ: expect only pragmatic progress
On 8 June the EU Member States will discuss the European Commissionâs proposals for an Energy Union. According to Severin Fischer and Oliver Geden of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin, it is already clear that they will avoid or delay implementation of any meaningful steps in the direction of a political energy union. Over the next few years, they write, the focus of EU energy and climate policy will be … [Read more...]
EU still struggling to agree energy R&D priorities
R&D in energy is about to get a fresh push from Brussels through a new EU-wide Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan that is supposed to harness the combined power of public and private research in different Member States. But to what extent will Member States agree to align their national research agendas? And around what common goals? The Commission believes energy R&D should be structured around âthe consumerâ and âthe energy system … [Read more...]
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