Renewables in Europe need an investment of Euro 443 billion by 2020
BRUSSELS, Belgium, 2004-11-10 Refocus Weekly
An investment of Euro 443 billion is needed by 2020 if Europe is to meet its targets for renewable energies, according to a marketing report produced by the European Renewable Energy Council.
“The implementation of new policies to promote renewable energy sources
will have a considerable impact on the amount of investments made in this
sector,” explains the report, ‘Renewable Energy in Europe: Building Capacity
& Markets.’ “Using renewable energy technologies creates employment at
much higher rates than many other energy technologies. There are economic
opportunities for new industries and new industrial and craft jobs through
production, installation and maintenance of renewable energy systems.”
“Ground-breaking targets along the way towards sustainability are important
both for renewable energy and end-use efficiency,” because such targets can
guide policy-makers and send “important signals” to investors and the
public. The targets of the 1997 White Paper set a share of 12% from renewables
in total energy consumption by 2010 (double the 1997 share) and sets individual
targets for each renewable energy technology.
The renewable energy industry in Europe has already reached annual revenue of
Euro 10 billion and employs 200,000 people. The document presents an “overview
of the latest technological, financial and economic information on renewable
energy technologies” and analyses the progress achieved by the end of 2003 on
market aspects of developing renewables in the EU and to explain how renewables
“could play a more significant role in the EU’s energy balance, a role more
appropriate to their great potential.”
“Looking at the annual growth rates between 1995 and 2001, it is clear that
one sector (wind) is far beyond the target and others are well in line with the
expectations of the White Paper,” it concludes. “To reach both the overall
target and the sector targets, which is feasible, specific support actions for
some technologies that lag behind, such as biomass and solar thermal have to be
taken soon.”
“Given the present state of market progress and a strong political support,
the current expectation is that the overall contribution of renewable energy to
energy consumption in 2020 will be 20%” but, in order to reach the target,
“strong energy efficiency measures have to be taken to stabilise the energy
consumption between 2010 and 2020.”
Renewable energies eliminate direct fuel costs but the external costs to society
from burning fossil fuels or from nuclear generation are not fully included in
energy prices, it adds. Avoiding CO2 emission from green power, green fuel and
green heat options “offer a safe transition to a low carbon economy” and the
CO2 savings by 2010 from the development of renewables will be 320 megatonnes a
year, which represents 95% of the EU commitment under the Kyoto Protocol.
By 2020, the CO2 reduction from renewables will be 728 Mt, which represents a
decrease of 17.3% of the total GHG emissions in 1990 in the EU-15.
EREC is the umbrella association of renewable energy associations and its
members include the European Photovoltaic Industry Association, European Small
Hydropower Association, European Solar Thermal Industry Federation, European
Biomass Industry Association, European Wind Energy Association, European Biomass
Association and European Geothermal Energy Council, as well as EUREC Agency
(European Renewable Energy Research Centres) as associate members.
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