PES Essential
EU climate policy: a moving target?
PES takes a look at the recently-published EWEA report on EU climate policy, and examines the potential for wind power to drastically reduce emissions by setting greater targets.
Background
Wind energy production does not emit any greenhouse gases (GHG), unlike coal, gas and oil. Because of the way the electricity market operates - using marginal costs rather than full investment and operation costs - wind energy replaces a mix of gas, coal and oil generation. The European Commission estimates that these three technologies emit on average 696g CO2/kWh in 2010. 181 TWh of wind energy production would therefore have avoided a total of 126 million tonnes of CO2 (MtCO2) in 2010.
As party to the Kyoto Proto
20/20 vision for offshore
With strong long term growth forecasted, PES takes a look at what the next 20 years holds for offshore, and the future requirements of an industry on the up.
Between 2020 and 2030 a further 110 GW of offshore wind capacity is expected to be added in European waters. 150 GW of wind power would produce 562 TWh annually, enough to cover 14 per cent of the EU's 2030 electricity demand and avoid 315 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.
In December 2008 the European Union agreed on a binding target of 20 per cent renewable energy by 2020. To meet the 20 per cent target for renewable energy, the European Commission expected 34 per cent of electricity to come from renewable energy sources by 2020 and believed that "wind could contribute 12 per cent
Energy Roadmap 2050: an insider’s guide
The initial draft of the European Commission working paper is finally here, having been recently ratified in Brussels. And while the finer points that are to be rolled-out are yet to be determined (following the Copenhagen and Cancun meetings), the broad brushstrokes are in place. Here we present an exclusive Q&A from the Commission's Ad Hoc Advisory Group.
What is a Roadmap?
Some members of the Group considered the term "Roadmap" as overused, with various organisations giving the term very different meanings. The importance of considering a range of possible transition paths to decarbonisation has the corollary that there is no one single "Roadmap", but rather many.
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Last word
Interesting. That's one word we could use to describe the industry in the last few months - booming in one regard, yet plummeting in another. And to get a good idea of what's going on, you'd have to speak to a wide range of experts from a broad array of sectors... just like we've done right here. Enjoy the insight.
"The growth achieved in the last five years has been outstanding and if continued would result in over half of the EU's electricity coming from renewables by 2030. A long-term stable framework, underpinned by an ambitious 2030 renewable energy target, is clearly the proven way to ensure Europe meets its climate, competitiveness and energy security goals"
Justin Wilkes, EWEA's Director of Policy, commenting on energyWind powers growth in European jobs
As the credit crunch in Europe morphs into a sovereign debt crisis and on to full-blown currency crisis, it is easy to believe that the continent is something of a black hole when it comes to employment opportunities. But it's not all doom and gloom and there's life in the European jobs market in the form of renewable energy. Paul Flynn at Eurostaff examines how renewable energy, and the wind sector in particular, promises fresh opportunities for those with the right skill sets.
Almost lost among the pronouncements from Berlin about financial stability and growth pacts, fiscal compacts, Eurobonds and the profligacy of countries on the Eurozone periphery, was the announcement that, following Fukushima, Germany will be abandoning its nuclear power program.Read more
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