EU could miss its green energy goals - study
Date: 26-Jul-02
Country: UK
"Research for this report finds that European Commission production targets will not be met unless other European countries follow the examples set by Spain and Germany," a report by market research company Reuters Business Insight said.
The report "Green Energy in Europe, Strategic Prospects to 2010" said technological, political and administrative barriers threatened the EU's target to take 22 percent of its electricity consumption from renewable energy sources by 2010.
Complex environmental planning, long public enquiry and consenting procedures for new renewable energy plants will lead to total produced renewable electricity ending up at at least 140 terawatt hours (TWh) below a goal of almost 700 TWh per year.
The target is a tool for the EU to reduce greenhouse gases emissions by eight percent of 1990 levels by 2008-2012 to help curb global warming.
To meet the target Europe would have to move to a more market-based approach to green power from a technology-based one, promoting border trade, certification and labelling as well as internalising external costs within the prices for non-green power, the report said.
In the mid-1990s, energy companies in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Britain began to offer their customers the option to pay a premium for green power, stimulating the output from renewable energy.
On Monday a UK parliamentary report warned Britain it was falling behind its targets to replace polluting fossil fuel with clean renewable energy because of difficulties in getting planning approval and record-low power prices.
The study also said that despite the hurdles, a considerable growth in green energy production was expected, valuing trade in green certificates at 20-30 billion euros by 2010.
Green certificates are issued free to producers of renewable energy such as wind, solar and bio-energy who can sell them in the marketplace.
The certificates allow the buyer to emit carbon dioxide, widely seen as a contributor to global warming, and their trade raises funds for renewable energy producers.
The report was written in association with energy research firms Greenprices.com and Ecofys.
Reuters Business Insight is a joint venture between information and news firm Reuters Group and news group Datamonitor Plc .