“At a time of austerity, Greek citizens cannot afford to support practices which prolong energy dependence. The choice of importing oil and gas versus producing renewable energy within the EU, and encouraging clean energy exports among Member States, is obvious”, Greek Energy Minister George Papakonstantinou told Wind Directions magazine recently.
He also rebutted the myth that renewables are expensive, saying it was a view he didn’t share, “especially in regard to proven and tested technologies such as wind and solar PV, whose investment costs have been lowered significantly in the last few years. continue reading »
European politicians need to endorse a new binding 2030 target for renewable energy sources if they want to take advantage of the EU’s position as global technological leader in onshore and offshore wind power. That was the message Wednesday from Stephane Bourgeois, Head of Regulatory Affairs at the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) in Brussels, following the European Commission’s Communication on “Renewable energy: a major player in the European energy market.” continue reading »
The Chinese economy is growing at a phenomenal rate. In Beijing, from the shiny, high-rise office buildings to slick underground trains, China’s economic expansion is clear. And the Chinese wind power sector has surged too, with over 62 GW now installed, making it the world’s number one.
But growth rates stabilised a while ago, and cracks began to appear. In 2010-11 the shine on Chinese wind power started to tarnish as it emerged that accidents were happening, grid connection rates were poor and quantity had clearly been given the upper hand over quality.
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Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark at EWEA 2012
The EWEA Annual Event 2012 in Copenhagen has now drawn to a close. But what were the main messages of the Chairs of the six themed “tracks” – from policy to financing – to the wind energy industry and politicians?
Uncertainty is very high in the market, in particular for the post-2020 years, Jan Serup Hylleberg, Chair of the policies and markets track, said at the final panel session on Thursday. “Long term stability and effective mechanisms are needed from the political side to grow the industry,” he said. continue reading »
Sophie Westlake tells the EWEA blog about a new website that aims to collect as many facts as possible on the benefits of Europe’s climate and energy policies…
Sceptics argue that climate change and sustainable energy policies will damage Europe’s economy, but do you believe delayed action in deploying renewable energy technologies could actually be cheaper in the long-run? Do you really think that climate action is a genuine threat to European jobs?
Well the short answer for me is “not really”… But then you probably want a little more detail than that… continue reading »
