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WOOD ENERGY N°2 / 2003 17

THEME ENERGY POLICIES

The European Union’sstrategies and instruments

to promote renewable energy sources

are increasing their market share.Although we are far from obtaininga visible impact on total energy con-sumption, renewable sources andenergy e f f ic iency are headingtowards a large change in the EU’senergy balance.

THE EU’S APPLICATIONSTRATEGIESAND INSTRUMENTS

To accelerate this process, theCommission has equipped itselfwith a series of political, legislativeand financial instruments: WhitePaper, Green Paper, recommenda-tions, regulations, directives andfinancial support schemes.Below are cited the Commission’smost recent initiatives in the energyefficiency and renewable energysectors.At the beginning of last year theCommission adopted a directiveproposal aimed at improving theenergy performance of buildings.The proposal includes a methodo-logy to establish integrated stan-dards of energy performance of

buildings, taking onsite energy pro-duction into consideration, suchas PV electricity, solar heating andrefrigeration.The proposal is still being discussedby the Council and the EuropeanParliament.As well as buildings, another areawith great energy-saving potentialis the electrical equipment sector

and in par t i cu lar househo ldappliances. A framework directive is currentlybeing examined for minimumvalues of efficiency and perfor-mance requirements for these typesof appliances.In the industrial sector voluntarymeasures have been widely usedto improve the energy efficiency

Today the EU suffers from a large energy deficit but, with technologicalprogress, renewables are capable of producing significantly positive effectsin the next ten years. The Commission has equipped itself with a series ofpolitical, legislative and financial instruments in support of renewables,whose level of competitiveness against conventional energy sources isprogressively improving.The development of renewables will, however, accelerate only if certainpolitical, legislative and financial imperatives are soon put properly intopractice. In particular, the contribution from private investment will becrucial.

E n z o M i l l i c h - A d v i s o r D i r e c t o r a t e G e n e r a l f o r E n e r g y a n d T r a n s p o r t , E u r o p e a n C o m m i s s i o n Europe

European Union Energy mix in 1999(EUROSTAT 2001)


both in industry and transport.However, the Commiss ion hastaken the initiative, by means of arecent proposal for a directive onbiofuels, to coherently combineenergy efficiency and transport. The proposal includes an obligation

for Member States to ensure that aminimum percentage of tractionfuels used are made up of biofuels.The goal is 2% by 2005 and 6% by2010.The directive on energy productionfrom renewable sources, which was

approved in September 2001, esta-blishes a juridical framework forfuture development of the renewableenergy market in the EU. In itMember States are asked to reachthe indicative objectives for the con-sumption of electricity supplies fromrenewable sources. Should nationalobjectives be reached, European con-sumption of electricity from renewa-bles would increase from the current14% to 22% by 2010.The “Green Energy Directive” refrainsfrom proposing a harmonised finan-cial support scheme for RESE(renewable energy sources-electri-city) but gives the Commission thejob of presenting a proposal (if neces-sary) within 4 years, based on theexperience acquired by MemberStates in their respective nationalsupport schemes. It also obligesMember States to issue guarantee oforigin certificates for RES-E, to ensurerenewables have access to thenetwork as well as fair and transpa-rent connection and transmissioncosts.Despite its rather “minimalist” con-tent, the directive on green electricitycan be considered a milestone in theevolution of renewable energies inthat it provides the legal basis forthe interconnection of all the Com-mission’s future initiatives in the fieldof renewable energy sources. To improve and strengthen existingmeasures which favour cogenera-tion, the Commission adopted adirective in 2002 aimed at promo-ting activities of this type. Special provisions are provided forwhich favour small CHP plants,higher efficiency and the involve-ment of renewable energy. The pro-posal, which should lead to a dou-bling of the share of cogenerationwi th in ten years , i s cur rent lyunder examination in the EuropeanParliament and Council.It goes without saying that the legi-slative provisions which promoteenergy efficiency and the develop-ment of renewable energies shouldbe accompanied by suitable finan-cial support schemes.The Commiss ion has providedfinancial assistance for research andtechnological demonstrations in theenergy field for over 25 years andwill continue to support innovationin coming years through the VI Fra-mework Programme for Researchand Technological Development,which has a total budget for energyof 810 M Euros at its disposal.

Primary energy Production of RES in 1999(Eurostat 2002)

The Basic Facts About EnergyEnergy self sufficiency is impossible to achieve

� How to Achieve the Energy Targets?The Tools

• White Paper on Energy Policy

• White Paper on RES & Action Plan

• Green Paper on security of supply

• Draft Directives

• Support programmes


THE SUPPORTPROGRAMME:INTELLIGENT ENERGYFOR EUROPE 2003-2006

Among the Commission’s supportprogrammes, it is worth pointingout the new long-term programmecal led “ Inte l l igent Energy forEurope” (IEE) which was passedonto the European Parliament andCouncil for approval in April lastyear. This multi-discipline schemewill be the Commission’s maininstrument to support non techno-logical activit ies in the energysector. It will last for 4 years begin-ning next year and will have a totalbudget of 215 M Euros.The main objective of the pro-gramme is the strengthening andchange of direction of Communityaction in the energy sector towardssustainable development, interna-tional cooperation and safety ofenergy supplies, in line with theEU’s recent political priorities.The IEE programme will ensure afollow-up to the support activitiesin the framework of SAVE andALTENER. Two other areas of intervention willbe introduced: one linked to the

energy aspects of transport (STEER),the other linked to the interna-tional promotion of renewablesources and of energy efficiency inthe ambit of the COOPENERscheme.The new programme will be carriedout through Targeted Key Actionswhich will be defined by the rele-vant Work Programme. The Key Act ions can integratevarious specific sectors of interven-tion and should be correlated tothematic areas such as:

� sustainable energy for the islands� energy efficiency in buildings� green transport� 100% renewable communities� water and energy, etc…Putting the programme into effectthrough Key Actions will allow fora better concentration of resourcestowards projects of major impact ata local, regional, national and inter-national level, highlighting the“visibility” of the interventions ofthe Community and the MemberStates.

Composition of energy sources in the EU-15(Source : Eurostat 2001)



Hauling consists inrecovering forestresources afterfelling. Here inFinland.

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Financial support will be providedfor proposals in the four main sec-tors of activity based on merit, theirbenefits to the European Union andtheir expected impact. As a generalrule it will not exceed 50% of theproject’s total cost. For some actions, such as studies orestimates of the impact of the stra-tegies and Community measures,financial support may cover theentirety of the cost.The Commission’s proposal pro-vides for the possibility of delega-ting some of the IEE programme’smanagement tasks to an ExecutiveAgency.

RES ON THE AGENDAOF INTERNATIONALPOLITICAL SUMMITS

In briefly citing some of the majorinternational events which willgreatly impact future activities,especially in the field of renewablesources, first and foremost we mustremember the communiqué of theG8 summit in Genoa which reco-gnised the importance of renewableenergy for sustainable develop-ment, the diversification of energysupplies and the protection of theenvironment.Having highlighted the contributionof renewables to reducing poverty,the G8 Ministers concluded by

Damage Cost Estimates for Energy Fuel Cycles(UK Specific Results)

RES power plantsProduction cost


Before burning in aheating plant,woodchips areproduced in theforest. This is anexample of road sidechipping in Chauxforest, France.

WE : Wind Energy BM : Biomass HY : Hydraulic Energy GE : Geothermal

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recommending the commitment ofadequate financial resources to pro-mote energy efficiency and alter-native sources in developing partsof the world.In January this year a EuropeanCommission report echoed thismessage – “EU Energy Initiative forPoverty Eradication and Sustai-nable Development”. The main aim of the initiative is tohelp reach the Millennium Deve-lopment Objectives by supplyingsustainable services to the poorerparts of our planet. In practice, theinitiative will take the shape of apartnership between the govern-ments of developing countries,Member States, the Commissionand other interested participantssuch as NGOs, development banksand the private sector.Altogether the EU provides severalhundred million Euros each year forenergy in developing countries.This figure may increase over thenext few years fo l lowing therequests of poor countries in thecontext of the EU initiative. The total capital required to satisfyenergy needs is still, however, toohigh to be covered uniquely by aiddonors and it must be completed bycontributions from governments,banks and the private sector.The EU’s Energy Initiative wasofficially launched in Johannesburgat the World Summit for Sustai-nab le Deve lopment , whererenewable energy was included asone of the five key topics for generaldiscussion.

CONCLUSIONS

I would like to end this article witha note of cautious optimism.The last decade has recorded greatprogress in the development ofrenewable sources of energy on aEuropean level. In particular we have witnessed thegradual reduction in productioncosts for the green kilowatt, in somesectors to the point of reachinglevels of real competitiveness withtraditional sources of energy.The lowering of unit costs of elec-tricity production must continue, inparticular coupling generation fromrenewable sources with energy effi-ciency imperatives.The achievement of Communityobjectives will be accelerated onlywhen certain political, legislativeand financial imperatives are pro-gressively put into practice:

� firstly, development of renewablesources coupled with the rational useof energy must constitute a politicalpriority for Europe;� secondly, the new Europeanstrategy must be accompanied byadequate and timely initiatives in the

legislative, fiscal and financial fields;� thirdly, in order to reach theambitious goals set by the WhitePaper for Renewable Sources by2010, the intervention of privatefinancing in favour of renewableswill be decisive. �

Gas vs RES power plantsProduction cost

Coal vs RES power plantsProduction cost


� Support Programmes on Renewables

1. The Vlth RTD Framework Programme• The main objective for RES is cost reduction and their integration.Budget of 810 M € (2003-2006).

2. “Intelligent Energy for Europe” programme:• Fills the gap between demonstration & commercialization - Non tech-nological actions and studies aiming at overcoming non technical bar-riers. Budget of 86 M€ for RES (2003-2006).

3. Regional Policy & Structural Funds• Budget dedicated for deployment of RES in most promising EURegions. Budget of 415 M€ (2000-2006).



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