EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger speaking in Brussels
At a special press briefing organized by The International Press Association in Brussels last night, EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger confirmed that he will be bringing forward proposals for post-2020 policy, before the current term of the Commission ends, which is 31 October 2014. He said that the Council would talk about binding targets in an orientation debate and that he favoured binding targets. He also said that the targets will be “pragmatic” and “sensitive”.
For 2020, the EU has committed to cutting its emissions to 20% below 1990 levels, as well as renewable energy and energy efficiency targets. A binding renewable energy target for 2030 would provide much needed confidence for the renewables industry, as well as secure commitment to tackle climate change from EU member states.
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Heikki Willstedt Mesa, AEE
For the last 100 days, wind energy has provided more of Spain’s power than any other source. Yet the government is cutting support for the sector and putting a major electricity provider – and domestic industry – at risk.
Heikki Willstedt Mesa, Energy Policies Director for the Spanish Wind Energy Association (AEE) explains why the government’s latest decisions are so dangerous.
Until last week, what was the situation for renewables in Spain?
According to Spanish law, companies must get a reasonable return on their investments in renewable energy, with the average being between 7 and 8%. Last year, the new government decided there would be no more incentives for new renewable energy installations after 2012.
That was a big blow for the future industry. But then afterwards, at the end of 2012, the government also approved a 7% tax on all existing power generation installations. It was supposed to be a law for the environment, but they were also taxing wind and other renewables. That meant not only future industry was impacted, but also already existing wind farms.
So what happened last week, and how has it made matters even worse?
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Artur Trinidade at the Boom and Bust panel, EWEA 2013
Wind power reached a significant milestone in Europe last year, surpassing 100 GW of installed capacity. And, with some of Europe’s mature wind energy markets slowing down, where does wind power go from here and what is holding its further development back?
Artur Trindade, Portuguese Secretary of State for Energy, said that we need to stop thinking of wind energy on a national or even regional basis but instead on a Europe-wide level. “We need to increase the size of the market: we should start thinking about continental markets to optimise supply and demand.”
Speaking at EWEA 2013 in Vienna, Trindade said that market barriers in the electricity market and grid congestion were two significant obstacles to this. For example, between Portugal and Spain there are good electricity interconnections, but to France and therefore to the rest of Europe, connections are poor.
“France is not cooperating, we cannot cross the country which influences our capability to cooperate with central EU states,” he said.
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The European Commission needs to provide data to compare subsidies for renewables with the “far less transparent” subsidies for coal, oil, gas and nuclear, Irish Energy Minister and current EU President Pat Rabbitte says in the latest Wind Directions magazine.
Minister Rabbitte, who is one of the keynote speakers at the opening session of EWEA 2013 this morning, also warns that moving to a 2030 low carbon target would be damaging to the 2020 renewable energy target.
The minister also discusses energy security, highlighting the role of renewables in reducing future “volatility”.
Read the full interview and more in the latest Wind Directions
Freezing temperatures in both Belgium and Germany have put both countries’ power systems to the test this week, but neither country has experienced electricity blackouts despite the lack of nuclear power.
Two of Belgium’s seven nuclear reactors – Doel 3 and Tihange 2 – were switched off this summer, following the discovery of cracks, cutting 2,000 MW of electricity-generating capacity from Belgium’s electricity network. Even without this nuclear capacity online, the network survived this winter’s peak electricity demand of 13,166 MW on 17 January, L’Echo, a Belgian newspaper, reported.
Belgium’s electricity supply is guaranteed by a small amount of energy imports – including gas from the Netherlands and solar and wind from Germany – and a diverse energy portfolio, one in which renewable energy has a rising share, the paper said.
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