Renewable energy in the European Union
Encyclopedia
The countries of the European Union
are currently the number two global leaders in the development and application of renewable energy
. Promoting the use of renewable energy sources is important both to the reduction of the EU's dependence on foreign energy imports, and in meeting targets to combat global warming
.
set an objective of promoting stable growth while protecting the environment. The Amsterdam Treaty
added the principle of sustainable development to the objectives of the EU. Since 1997, the EU has been working towards a renewable energy supply equivalent to 12% of the total EU's energy consumption by 2010.
The Johannesburg Summit
failed to introduce the radical changes targeted for ten years after the Rio Summit. No specific goals were set for the energy sector, which disappointed many countries. While the EU had proposed an annual increase in the use of renewable energy at a rate of 1.5% worldwide until 2010, Johannesburg's action plan did not recommend such a "substantial" increase, with no concrete goals nor dates being set.
The EU was unwilling to accept this result and with other nations formed a group of "pioneer countries" that promised to establish ambitious national or even regional goals to achieve global targets. The Johannesburg Renewable Energy Coalition (JREC) has a total of more than 80 member countries; the EU members, Brazil, South Africa and New Zealand amongst them.
In the European Conference for Renewable Energy in Berlin in 2004, the EU defined ambitious goals of its own. The conclusion was that by 2020, the EU would seek to obtain 20% of its total energy consumption requirements with renewable energy sources. Up until that point, the EU had only set targets up to 2010, and this proposal was the first to represent the EU's commitment up to 2020.
. Renewables now account for less than 7 percent of the EU energy mix. In a special report, the European Parliament said that to give the legislation teeth, it should contain binding renewable energy targets for particular sectors – electricity, heating and transport – rather than just a general goal. The parliament said it would resist any attempt to treat nuclear energy as a substitute for renewables.
Underlying many of the EU's energy policy proposals is to limit global temperature changes to no more than 2 °C above pre-industrial levels, of which 0.8 °C has already taken place and another 0.5–0.7 °Cis already committed. 2 °C is usually seen as the upper temperature limit to avoid 'dangerous global warming
'.
and renewable energy actions includes:
instrument – the E4 Programme (Energy Efficiency and Endogenous Energies), consisting of a set of multiple, diversified measures aimed at promoting a consistent, integrated approach to energy supply and demand. By promoting energy efficiency and the use of endogenous (renewable) energy sources, the programme seeks to upgrade the competitiveness of the Portuguese economy and to modernize the country’s social fabric, while simultaneously preserving the environment by reducing gas emissions, especially the CO2 responsible for climatic change. As a result, in the five years between 2005 and 2010, energy production from renewable sources increased 28%.
Some regions of Spain lead Europe in the use of renewable energy
technology and plan to reach 100% renewable energy generation in few years. Castilla y León and Galicia, in particular, are near this goal. In 2006 they fulfilled about 70% of their total electricity demand from renewable energy sources.
If nuclear power
is also considered CO2 free, two autonomous communities in Spain have already managed to fulfill their total 2006 electricity demand "free" of CO2 emissions: Extremadura
and Castilla-La Mancha.
In 2005 Spain became the first country in the world to require the installation of photovoltaic electricity generation in new buildings, and the second in the world (after Israel
) to require the installation of solar hot water
systems.
), up from 2.55% in 1990. The UK Government energy policy
expects that the total contribution from renewables should rise to 10% by 2010.
The prospects for renewable energy in Scotland
in particular are significant. Scotland
has an estimated potential of 36.5 GW of installed capacity from wind and 7.5 GW from tidal power
, 25% of the estimated total capacity for the European Union for both, and up to 14 GW of wave power potential, 10% of EU capacity. The Scottish Executive
has a target of generating 17% to 18% of Scotland's
electricity from renewables by 2010, rising to 40% by 2020.
GeoEner is the Building and Industrial Geothermal Energy Congress.
EEA (European Environment Agency
)s Europe's onshore and offshore wind energy potential report, confirms wind energy could power Europe many times over. The report highlights wind power’s potential in 2020 as three times greater than Europe’s expected electricity demand, rising to a factor of seven by 2030.
The implementation of wind power
is especially widespread in Germany, Spain, Denmark
, Portugal and Ireland
. The results of the investigation carried out by EUWINet (a project financed partly by the European Commission
) indicated that the annual median growth of the European wind power market is 35%, and that EU Members contribute around 75% of the world's wind power. Thanks to the growth that has resulted from the use and development of this energy source, the wind power market has helped to generate more than 25,000 jobs within the EU.
The energy policy of the United Kingdom
calls for appreciable expansion of wind energy by the year 2010.
The need for the strategic development of photovoltaic systems in the EU has led to the creation of PV-NET, a network that gathers representatives from all the sectors of the research and development community concerned with the photovoltaic solar energy industry (see solar cell
). The network promotes communication between speakers through the organisation of specialised conferences, workshops and congresses.
This interaction has led to the editing of a waybill, finished in 2003 with the aim of providing a solid basis for EU leaders and European citizens to base their decisions and policy making and in order to help reach the objective set by the European Commission to multiply the use of photovoltaic systems by thirty times by 2010.
In 2002, the world production of photovoltaic modules surpassed 550 MW, of which more than the 50% was produced in the EU. At the end of 2004, 79% of all European capacity was in Germany, where 794 MWp had been installed. The European Commission
anticipates that Germany may have installed around 4,500 MWp by 2010.
Portugal
has the second largest photovoltaic power station in the world, which was completed in December 2008. The complex, called Amareleja photovoltaic power station, covers an area of 250-hectare. The 46-megawatt solar power plant produces enough electricity for 30,000 homes and saves more than 89,383 tons a year in greenhouse gas emissions. Also in production since January 2007, the Serpa solar power plant
with a installed capacity 11MW, covers an area of 60-hectare, produces enough energy for 8,000 homes and saves more than 30,000 tons a year in greenhouse gas emissions. These solar parks are approximately 30 km apart.
. Worldwide the use was 88 GWthermal (2005). Growth potential is enormous. At present the EU is second after China in the installations. If all EU countries used solar thermal as enthusiastically as the Austria
ns, the EU’s installed capacity would already be 91 GWth (130 million m2 today, far beyond the target of 100 million m2 by 2010, set by the White Paper
in 1997). In 2005 solar heating in the EU was equivalent to more than 686.000 tons of oil. ESTIF’s minimum target is to produce solar heating equivalent to 5.600.000 tons of oil (2020). A more ambitious, but feasible, target is 73 millions tons of oil per year (2020) – a lorry row spanning 1.5 times around the globe.
The research efforts and infrastructure needed to supply 50% of the energy for space and water heating and cooling across Europe using solar thermal energy has been set out under the aegis of the European Solar Thermal Technology Platform (ESTTP). Published in late December 2008, more than 100 experts developed the strategic research agenda (SRA), which includes a deployment roadmap showing the non-technological framework conditions that will enable this ambitious goal to be reached by 2050.
The world's first commercial wave farm is located at the Aguçadora Wave Park near Póvoa de Varzim
in Portugal. The farm which uses three Pelamis P-750
machines was officially opened in 2008 by the Portuguese minister for the economy. A second phase of the project is now planned to increase the installed capacity from 2.25MW to 21MW using a further 25 machines.
Funding for a wave farm in Scotland
using four Pelamis machines was announced on 20 February 2007 by the Scottish Executive
. The funding of just over £4 million is part of a £13 million funding package for marine power in Scotland. The farm, is to be located at the European Marine Test Centre (EMEC) off the coast of Orkney and will have an installed capacity of 3MW.
1 million CUTE (Clean Urban Transport for Europe) scheme and the ECTOS (Ecological City Transport System).
The tests are taking place in the cities of Amsterdam
, Barcelona, Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid
, Porto
, Reykjavík
, Stockholm and Stuttgart
. It consists of putting into service public buses, called Citaro, manufactured by DaimlerChrysler
.
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
are currently the number two global leaders in the development and application of renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
. Promoting the use of renewable energy sources is important both to the reduction of the EU's dependence on foreign energy imports, and in meeting targets to combat global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
.
Policy
The Maastricht TreatyMaastricht Treaty
The Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty...
set an objective of promoting stable growth while protecting the environment. The Amsterdam Treaty
Amsterdam Treaty
The Amsterdam Treaty, officially the Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty of the European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts, was signed on 2 October 1997, and entered into force on 1 May 1999; it made substantial changes to the Maastricht Treaty,...
added the principle of sustainable development to the objectives of the EU. Since 1997, the EU has been working towards a renewable energy supply equivalent to 12% of the total EU's energy consumption by 2010.
The Johannesburg Summit
Earth Summit 2002
The World Summit on Sustainable Development, WSSD or Earth Summit 2002 took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 26 August to 4 September 2002. It was convened to discuss sustainable development by the United Nations. WSSD gathered a number of leaders from business and non-governmental...
failed to introduce the radical changes targeted for ten years after the Rio Summit. No specific goals were set for the energy sector, which disappointed many countries. While the EU had proposed an annual increase in the use of renewable energy at a rate of 1.5% worldwide until 2010, Johannesburg's action plan did not recommend such a "substantial" increase, with no concrete goals nor dates being set.
The EU was unwilling to accept this result and with other nations formed a group of "pioneer countries" that promised to establish ambitious national or even regional goals to achieve global targets. The Johannesburg Renewable Energy Coalition (JREC) has a total of more than 80 member countries; the EU members, Brazil, South Africa and New Zealand amongst them.
In the European Conference for Renewable Energy in Berlin in 2004, the EU defined ambitious goals of its own. The conclusion was that by 2020, the EU would seek to obtain 20% of its total energy consumption requirements with renewable energy sources. Up until that point, the EU had only set targets up to 2010, and this proposal was the first to represent the EU's commitment up to 2020.
Renewables targets
EU leaders reached agreement in principle in March 2007 that 20 percent of the bloc's energy should be produced from renewable fuels and by 2020 as part of its drive to cut emissions of carbon dioxideCarbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
. Renewables now account for less than 7 percent of the EU energy mix. In a special report, the European Parliament said that to give the legislation teeth, it should contain binding renewable energy targets for particular sectors – electricity, heating and transport – rather than just a general goal. The parliament said it would resist any attempt to treat nuclear energy as a substitute for renewables.
Underlying many of the EU's energy policy proposals is to limit global temperature changes to no more than 2 °C above pre-industrial levels, of which 0.8 °C has already taken place and another 0.5–0.7 °Cis already committed. 2 °C is usually seen as the upper temperature limit to avoid 'dangerous global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
'.
Actions
EU energy efficiencyEnergy conservation
Energy conservation refers to efforts made to reduce energy consumption. Energy conservation can be achieved through increased efficient energy use, in conjunction with decreased energy consumption and/or reduced consumption from conventional energy sources...
and renewable energy actions includes:
- BUILD UP
- The Covenant of Mayors
- Sustainable Energy Europe Campaign
- CONCERTO
- ManagEnergy
- Intelligent Energy – Europe (IEE)
- U4energy is an initiative funded under the IEE programme to improve energy consumption in schools and their local communities.
- Eco-innovationEco-innovationEco-innovation is a term used to describe products and processes that contribute to sustainable development. Eco-innovation is the commercial application of knowledge to elicit direct or indirect ecological improvements....
Member states
Germany
At the end of 2007 renewable energy in Germany provided 14.88% of Germany's electricity production, with the largest contribution being made by wind power.Portugal
In 2010, more than 50% of all yearly electricity consumption in Portugal was generated from renewable energy sources. The most important generation sources were hydroelectric (30%) and wind power (18%), with bioenergy (5%) and photovoltaic solar power (0,5%) accounting for the rest. In 2001, the Portuguese government launched a new energy policyEnergy policy
Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity has decided to address issues of energy development including energy production, distribution and consumption...
instrument – the E4 Programme (Energy Efficiency and Endogenous Energies), consisting of a set of multiple, diversified measures aimed at promoting a consistent, integrated approach to energy supply and demand. By promoting energy efficiency and the use of endogenous (renewable) energy sources, the programme seeks to upgrade the competitiveness of the Portuguese economy and to modernize the country’s social fabric, while simultaneously preserving the environment by reducing gas emissions, especially the CO2 responsible for climatic change. As a result, in the five years between 2005 and 2010, energy production from renewable sources increased 28%.
Spain
Spain as a whole has the target of generating 30% of its electricity needs from renewable energy sources by 2010, with half of that amount coming from wind power. In 2006, 20% of the total electricity demand was already produced with renewable energy sources, and in January 2009 the total electricity demand produced with renewable energy sources reached 34.8%.Some regions of Spain lead Europe in the use of renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
technology and plan to reach 100% renewable energy generation in few years. Castilla y León and Galicia, in particular, are near this goal. In 2006 they fulfilled about 70% of their total electricity demand from renewable energy sources.
If nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
is also considered CO2 free, two autonomous communities in Spain have already managed to fulfill their total 2006 electricity demand "free" of CO2 emissions: Extremadura
Extremadura
Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Its component provinces are Cáceres and Badajoz. It is bordered by Portugal to the west...
and Castilla-La Mancha.
In 2005 Spain became the first country in the world to require the installation of photovoltaic electricity generation in new buildings, and the second in the world (after Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
) to require the installation of solar hot water
Solar hot water
Solar water heating or solar hot water systems comprise several innovations and many mature renewable energy technologies that have been well established for many years...
systems.
United Kingdom
By 2004 4.65% of the UK's primary energy requirements were being generated from renewable energy sources (including hydroelectricityHydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
), up from 2.55% in 1990. The UK Government energy policy
Energy policy of the United Kingdom
The current energy policy of the United Kingdom is set out in the Energy White Paper of May 2007 and Low Carbon Transition Plan of July 2009, building on previous work including the 2003 Energy White Paper and the Energy Review Report in 2006...
expects that the total contribution from renewables should rise to 10% by 2010.
The prospects for renewable energy in Scotland
Renewable energy in Scotland
The production of renewable energy in Scotland is an issue that has come to the fore in technical, economic, and political terms during the opening years of the 21st century. The natural resource base for renewables is extraordinary by European, and even global standards...
in particular are significant. Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
has an estimated potential of 36.5 GW of installed capacity from wind and 7.5 GW from tidal power
Tidal power
Tidal power, also called tidal energy, is a form of hydropower that converts the energy of tides into useful forms of power - mainly electricity....
, 25% of the estimated total capacity for the European Union for both, and up to 14 GW of wave power potential, 10% of EU capacity. The Scottish Executive
Scottish Executive
The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998...
has a target of generating 17% to 18% of Scotland's
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
electricity from renewables by 2010, rising to 40% by 2020.
Bioenergy
Britain's first major bioethanol plant should be completed by the middle of 2009 and should use more than one million tonnes of wheat per year. The plant, in Wilton, northeast England, will be Europe's largest biorefinery, producing around 400 million to 450 million litres of bioethanol a year as well as 350,000 tonnes of animal feed. Currently the largest plant in the UK is a British Sugar facility in eastern England with an annual production capacity of about 70 million litres.Geothermal
European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC) promotes geothermal energy in the European Union.GeoEner is the Building and Industrial Geothermal Energy Congress.
Wind power
European Environment Agency
European Environment Agency is an agency of the European Union. Its task is to provide sound, independent information on the environment. It is a major information source for those involved in developing, adopting, implementing and evaluating environmental policy, and also the general public...
)s Europe's onshore and offshore wind energy potential report, confirms wind energy could power Europe many times over. The report highlights wind power’s potential in 2020 as three times greater than Europe’s expected electricity demand, rising to a factor of seven by 2030.
The implementation of wind power
Wind power
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
is especially widespread in Germany, Spain, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Portugal and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The results of the investigation carried out by EUWINet (a project financed partly by the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
) indicated that the annual median growth of the European wind power market is 35%, and that EU Members contribute around 75% of the world's wind power. Thanks to the growth that has resulted from the use and development of this energy source, the wind power market has helped to generate more than 25,000 jobs within the EU.
The energy policy of the United Kingdom
Energy policy of the United Kingdom
The current energy policy of the United Kingdom is set out in the Energy White Paper of May 2007 and Low Carbon Transition Plan of July 2009, building on previous work including the 2003 Energy White Paper and the Energy Review Report in 2006...
calls for appreciable expansion of wind energy by the year 2010.
Photovoltaic solar power
Solar cell
A solar cell is a solid state electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect....
). The network promotes communication between speakers through the organisation of specialised conferences, workshops and congresses.
This interaction has led to the editing of a waybill, finished in 2003 with the aim of providing a solid basis for EU leaders and European citizens to base their decisions and policy making and in order to help reach the objective set by the European Commission to multiply the use of photovoltaic systems by thirty times by 2010.
In 2002, the world production of photovoltaic modules surpassed 550 MW, of which more than the 50% was produced in the EU. At the end of 2004, 79% of all European capacity was in Germany, where 794 MWp had been installed. The European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
anticipates that Germany may have installed around 4,500 MWp by 2010.
Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
has the second largest photovoltaic power station in the world, which was completed in December 2008. The complex, called Amareleja photovoltaic power station, covers an area of 250-hectare. The 46-megawatt solar power plant produces enough electricity for 30,000 homes and saves more than 89,383 tons a year in greenhouse gas emissions. Also in production since January 2007, the Serpa solar power plant
Serpa solar power plant
Construction of the 11 megawatt Serpa solar power plant began in June 2006 and was completed as planned in January 2007, at the cost of 58 million euro. The facility is located in Serpa, in Portugal's Alentejo agricultural region, southeast of Lisbon...
with a installed capacity 11MW, covers an area of 60-hectare, produces enough energy for 8,000 homes and saves more than 30,000 tons a year in greenhouse gas emissions. These solar parks are approximately 30 km apart.
Solar heating and cooling
Solar heating is the usage of solar energy to provide space or water heatingWater heating
Water heating is a thermodynamic process using an energy source to heat water above its initial temperature. Typical domestic uses of hot water are for cooking, cleaning, bathing, and space heating...
. Worldwide the use was 88 GWthermal (2005). Growth potential is enormous. At present the EU is second after China in the installations. If all EU countries used solar thermal as enthusiastically as the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
ns, the EU’s installed capacity would already be 91 GWth (130 million m2 today, far beyond the target of 100 million m2 by 2010, set by the White Paper
White paper
A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that helps solve a problem. White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions, and are often requested and used in politics, policy, business, and technical fields. In commercial use, the term has also come to refer to...
in 1997). In 2005 solar heating in the EU was equivalent to more than 686.000 tons of oil. ESTIF’s minimum target is to produce solar heating equivalent to 5.600.000 tons of oil (2020). A more ambitious, but feasible, target is 73 millions tons of oil per year (2020) – a lorry row spanning 1.5 times around the globe.
The research efforts and infrastructure needed to supply 50% of the energy for space and water heating and cooling across Europe using solar thermal energy has been set out under the aegis of the European Solar Thermal Technology Platform (ESTTP). Published in late December 2008, more than 100 experts developed the strategic research agenda (SRA), which includes a deployment roadmap showing the non-technological framework conditions that will enable this ambitious goal to be reached by 2050.
Wave power
Póvoa de Varzim
Póvoa de Varzim is a Portuguese city in the Norte Region and sub-region of Greater Porto, with a 2011 estimated population of 63,364. According to the 2001 census, there were 63,470 inhabitants with 42,396 living in the city proper. The urban area expanded, southwards, to Vila do Conde, and there...
in Portugal. The farm which uses three Pelamis P-750
Pelamis wave energy converter
The Pelamis Wave Energy Converter is a technology that uses the motion of ocean surface waves to create electricity. The machine is made up of connected sections which flex and bend as waves pass; it is this motion which is used to generate electricity....
machines was officially opened in 2008 by the Portuguese minister for the economy. A second phase of the project is now planned to increase the installed capacity from 2.25MW to 21MW using a further 25 machines.
Funding for a wave farm in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
using four Pelamis machines was announced on 20 February 2007 by the Scottish Executive
Scottish Executive
The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998...
. The funding of just over £4 million is part of a £13 million funding package for marine power in Scotland. The farm, is to be located at the European Marine Test Centre (EMEC) off the coast of Orkney and will have an installed capacity of 3MW.
Hydrogen fuel
The European Commission is currently sponsoring a practical programme of vehicle trials for battery powered vehicles. The most ambitious projects are the €Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
1 million CUTE (Clean Urban Transport for Europe) scheme and the ECTOS (Ecological City Transport System).
The tests are taking place in the cities of Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Barcelona, Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
, Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
, Stockholm and Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
. It consists of putting into service public buses, called Citaro, manufactured by DaimlerChrysler
DaimlerChrysler
Daimler AG is a German car corporation. By unit sales, it is the thirteenth-largest car manufacturer and second-largest truck manufacturer in the world. In addition to automobiles, Daimler manufactures buses and provides financial services through its Daimler Financial Services arm...
.
Jobs
The renewable energy industry have offered new work opportunities in the EU during 2005–2009.| Jobs by the renewable energy industry in the EU |
|
|---|---|
| year | Employees |
| 2005 | 230.000 |
| 2006 | 300.000 |
| 2007 | 360.000 |
| 2008 | 400.000 |
| 2009 | 550.000 |
Installed wind power capacity
| EU Wind Energy Capacity (MW) | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Country | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 |
| – | EU-27 Wind power in the European Union According to the European Wind Energy Association report of February 2011, there are over 12,000 wind turbines in Europe with a total capacity of 84 GW. The European Union accounts for over 98% of that total. In 2010, €12.7 billion was invested in EU wind farms and 9.3 GW of new power capacity was... |
84,074 | 74,767 | 64,712 | 56,517 | 48,069 | 40,511 | 34,383 | 28,599 | 23,159 | 17,315 | 12,887 | 9,678 | 6,453 |
| 1 | Germany Wind power in Germany In 2010, the installed capacity of wind power in Germany was 27.2 GW. Wind power currently produces about seven percent of Germany’s total electrical power. More than 21,607 wind turbines are located in the German federal area and the country has plans to build more wind turbines... |
27,214 | 25,777 | 23,897 | 22,247 | 20,622 | 18,415 | 16,629 | 14,609 | 11,994 | 8,754 | 6,113 | 4,442 | 2,875 |
| 2 | Spain Wind power in Spain Spain is the world's fourth biggest producer of wind power, after China, the United States and Germany, with an installed capacity of 19,959 megawatts at the end of 2010, a rise of 1,609 MW for the year... |
20,676 | 19,149 | 16,689 | 15,131 | 11,623 | 10,028 | 8,264 | 6,203 | 4,825 | 3,337 | 2,235 | 1,812 | 834 |
| 3 | Italy Wind power in Italy Italy ranked as the world’s sixth largest producer of wind power with an installed nameplate capacity of 3,736 GW in 2008, behind India and ahead of France and the United Kingdom.-Overview:... |
5,797 | 4,850 | 3,736 | 2,726 | 2,123 | 1,718 | 1,266 | 905 | 788 | 682 | 427 | 277 | 180 |
| 4 | France Wind power in France France has the third largest wind resource in Europe after Germany and the United Kingdom. Électricité de France, the main French electricity generator and supplier in France plans to increase its capacity to 10 GW in the year 2010.... |
5,660 | 4,492 | 3,404 | 2,454 | 1,567 | 757 | 390 | 257 | 148 | 93 | 66 | 25 | 19 |
| 5 | UK Wind power in the United Kingdom By mid-2011, the installed capacity of wind power in the United Kingdom was over 5.7 gigawatts and the UK is ranked as the world’s eighth largest producer of wind power. Wind power is expected to continue growing in the UK for the foreseeable future, RenewableUK estimates that more than... |
5,204 | 4,051 | 2,974 | 2,406 | 1,962 | 1,332 | 904 | 667 | 552 | 474 | 406 | 362 | 333 |
| 6 | Denmark Wind power in Denmark Wind power provided 18.9% of electricity production and 24.1% of generation capacity in Denmark in 2008, Denmark was a pioneer in developing commercial wind power during the 1970s, and today almost half of the wind turbines around the world are produced by Danish manufacturers such as Vestas and... |
3,752 | 3,465 | 3,163 | 3,125 | 3,136 | 3,128 | 3,118 | 3,116 | 2,889 | 2,489 | 2,417 | 1,771 | 1,443 |
| 7 | Portugal Wind power in Portugal In December 2010, there was 3,937 MW of wind power nameplate capacity installed in Portugal. The major wind turbine manufacturers in the Portuguese market are Enercon, Vestas and Gamesa... |
3,702 | 3,535 | 2,862 | 2,150 | 1,716 | 1,022 | 522 | 296 | 195 | 131 | 100 | 61 | 60 |
| 8 | Netherlands Wind power in the Netherlands Wind power in the Netherlands has recently been used as a renewable energy source. By December 2009, 1,975 wind turbines were operational in the Netherlands, with an aggregate capacity of 2,221 MW... |
2,237 | 2,229 | 2,225 | 1,747 | 1,558 | 1,219 | 1,079 | 910 | 693 | 486 | 446 | 433 | 361 |
| 9 | Sweden Wind power in Sweden Sweden consumes about 150 terawatt hours of electricity per year, of which about 3 TW·h is generated from domestic wind power resources. Several times as much is imported from Denmark, which generates a considerable amount of surplus wind power.... |
2,163 | 1,560 | 1,048 | 788 | 571 | 509 | 442 | 399 | 345 | 293 | 231 | 220 | 174 |
| 10 | Ireland Wind power in the Republic of Ireland As of 2011, the Republic of Ireland has an installed wind power capacity of 1,428 megawatts. It is more than three times the total of 495.2 megawatts in 2005. In 2008 alone, the rate of growth was 54.6%, amongst the highest in the world. On July 31, 2009, the output from the country's... |
1,428 | 1,260 | 1,027 | 795 | 746 | 496 | 339 | 190 | 137 | 124 | 118 | 74 | 73 |
| 11 | Greece Wind power in Greece Wind power in Greece is about to expand by 352% by 2010 to meet the European target of 20% coverage of energy needs from renewable sources. Currently there are 1,028 wind turbines installed throughout Greece and the number is set to reach 2,587 wind turbines before the end of 2010.According to the... |
1,208 | 1,087 | 985 | 871 | 746 | 573 | 473 | 383 | 297 | 272 | 189 | 112 | 39 |
| 12 | Poland Wind power in Poland The wind power in Poland is representing as of 31 March 2011 total installed capacity 1,352 MWe. The energy production sources are registered by the state Office of Control of Electricity.The major point of production are:... |
1,107 | 725 | 544 | 276 | 153 | 83 | 63 | 63 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Austria Wind power in Austria Although Austria is a landlocked country with a distinguished hilly topography, meteorological preconditions permit the utilization of wind power. First calculations on the basis of wind measuring data assessed at the meteorological stations in the early 1980s rendered the surprising result of... |
1,011 | 995 | 995 | 982 | 965 | 819 | 606 | 415 | 140 | 94 | 77 | 34 | 30 |
| 14 | Belgium Wind power in Belgium Wind power in Belgium depends partially on regional governments and partially on the Belgian federal government. Wind energy producers in both the Flemish and Walloon regions get green certificates but not with the same conditions. In 2009 996 GWh of electricity was produced... |
911 | 563 | 415 | 287 | 194 | 167 | 96 | 68 | 35 | 32 | 13 | 6 | 6 |
| 15 | Romania Wind power in Romania As of 2010, wind power in Romania has an installed capacity of 462 MW, up from the 14.1 MW installed capacity in 2009. Romania has the highest wind potential in South Eastern Europe of 14,000 MW, and investors already have connection requests of 12,000 MW although the national electricity transport... |
462 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Bulgaria | 375 | 177 | 120 | 57 | 36 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Hungary Wind power in Hungary The installed capacity of wind power in Hungary was 329 MW as of April 2011. Most of wind farms are in the Kisalföld region.As of 1 April 2011, there were 39 operational wind farms in Hungary, with 172 turbines and 329 MW of installed capacity.-Tenders:... |
295 | 201 | 127 | 65 | 61 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Czech Republic | 215 | 192 | 150 | 116 | 54 | 28 | 17 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Finland Wind power in Finland Wind power in Finland was 143 MW with 118 turbines in December 2008. Wind power is the most popular energy resource among Finnish public: 90 % of Finns would want further investments in wind energy in September 2007. In April 2005 the value was 88 %... |
197 | 146 | 143 | 110 | 86 | 82 | 82 | 52 | 43 | 39 | 39 | 39 | 17 |
| 20 | Lithuania | 154 | 91 | 54 | 54 | 51 | 48 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Estonia Wind power in Estonia Wind power in Estonia amounts to an installed capacity of 149 MW, whilst roughly 570 MW worth of projects are currently being developed. All wind farms as of now are on land, offshore farms are planned on Lake Peipus and in the Baltic Sea near the island of Hiiumaa.Pakri wind farm is located in... |
149 | 142 | 78 | 59 | 32 | 32 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Cyprus | 82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Luxembourg | 42 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 22 | 17 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| 24 | Latvia | 31 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Slovakia | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 26 | Slovenia | 0.03 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Malta Wind power in Malta Wind power in Malta describes the wind power development in Malta.Malta is a European Union country. The European energy policy has the objective of a sustainable, competitive and secure... |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| – | EU-27 Offshore | 2,946 | 2,061 | 1,471 | 1,088 | |||||||||
| 28 | Turkey Wind power in Turkey Wind power in Turkey is gradually expanding in capacity. In 2006, 19 MW of wind power was installed, and in 2007, installed wind capacity increased to almost 140 MW:... |
1,329 | 801 | 458 | ||||||||||
| 29 | Norway | 441 | 431 | 429 | 333 | 314 | 267 | 160 | 101 | |||||
| 30 | Ukraine | 87 | 94 | 90 | 89 | 86 | 77 | |||||||
| 31 | Switzerland | 42 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 12 | |||||||
| 32 | Iceland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||
| 33 | Russia | 9 | 9 | |||||||||||
| – | Europe (MW) | 86,075 | 76,152 | 65,741 | 57,136 | 48,563 | 40,898 |
Total installed capacity
| # | Country | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | EU-27 Solar power in the European Union Solar power in the European UnionSolar power consists of photovoltaic and solar thermal power.During 2010, the European solar heating yield was 17.3 TWh, annual turnover 2.6 Billion € and employment 33,500 persons... |
2,170 | 3,420 | 4,940 | 10,380 | 15,860 | 29,327 |
| 1 | Germany Solar power in Germany Germany is one of the world's top photovoltaics installers, with a solar PV capacity as of May 2011 of more than 18,000 megawatts .The German solar PV industry installed 7,400 MW from nearly one-quarter million individual systems in 2010, and solar PV provided 12 TWh of electricity in 2010, about... |
1,910 | 3,063 | 3,846 | 6,019 | 9,830 | 17,370 |
| 2 | Spain Solar power in Spain Spain is one of the most advanced countries in the development of solar energy, since it is one of the countries of Europe with more hours of sunshine. The Spanish government committed to achieving a target of 12 percent of primary energy from renewable energy by 2010 with an installed solar... |
58 | 118 | 733 | 3,421 | 3,520 | 3,808 |
| 3 | Italy Solar power in Italy Italy ranked as the world’s second largest producer of solar power with an installed nameplate capacity of 9.000 MW and 263.594 plants in operation in 18 August 2011.... |
46 | 58 | 120 | 458 | 1,032 | 3,479 |
| 4 | Czech Republic | 0 | 1 | 4 | 55 | 466 | 1,953 |
| 5 | France | 26 | 33 | 47 | 104 | 289 | 1,054 |
| 6 | Belgium | 2 | 4 | 22 | 71 | 363 | 787 |
| 7 | Greece | 5 | 7 | 9 | 19 | 55 | 205 |
| 8 | Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.07 | 0.2 | 144 |
| 9 | Portugal Solar power in Portugal A large photovoltaic power project, the Serpa solar power plant, has been completed in Portugal, in one of the Europe's sunniest areas. The 11 megawatt plant covers and comprises 52,000 PV panels. The panels are raised 2 metres off the ground and the area will remain productive grazing land... |
3 | 4 | 18 | 68 | 102 | 131 |
| 10 | Austria | 24 | 29 | 27 | 32 | 53 | 103 |
| 11 | Netherlands | 51 | 51 | 53 | 57 | 68 | 97 |
| 12 | United Kingdom Solar power in the United Kingdom Solar power is a minor source of renewable energy in the United Kingdom. , about 200 megawatts of solar photovoltaic power have been installed in the UK, capable of producing about 200 gigawatt hours per year of electricity. In April 2010, the UK instituted a feed-in tariff, offering at... |
11 | 14 | 19 | 23 | 33 | 75 |
| 13 | Slovenia | 0.2 | 0.4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 36 |
| 14 | Luxembourg | 24 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 15 | Bulgaria | 0.8 | 1 | 6 | 17 | ||
| 16 | Sweden | 4 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 17 | Finland | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| 18 | Denmark | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 |
| 19 | Cyprus | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 20 | Romania Solar power in Romania Solar power in Romania had in 2007 an installed capacity of 0.81 MWp. Romania is located in an area with a good solar potential of 210 sunny days per year and with an annual solar energy flux between 1,000 kWh/ m2/year and 1,300 kWh/ m2/year. From this total amount around 600 to 800 kWh/ m2/year is... |
0.2 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 2 | |
| 21 | Poland | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 22 | Hungary | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 2 |
| 23 | Malta | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 2 | 2 |
| 24 | Ireland | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
| 25 | Lithuania | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.06 | 0.07 | 0.08 |
| 26 | Estonia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.01 | 0.05 | 0.08 |
| 27 | Latvia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.004 | 0.008 | 0.008 |
Installed capacity per capita
| PV per capita 2010 | ||
|---|---|---|
| # | Country | W/capita |
| 1 | 212.3 | |
| 2 | 185.9 | |
| 3 | 82.8 | |
| 4 | 72.6 | |
| 5 | 57.6 | |
| 6 | 54.3 | |
| 7 | 26.5 | |
| 8 | 18.2 | |
| 9 | 17.8 | |
| 10 | 16.3 | |
| 11 | 12.3 | |
| 12 | 12.2 | |
| 13 | 7.8 | |
| 14 | 5.8 | |
| 15 | 4.0 | |
| 16 | 2.3 | |
| 17 | 1.8 | |
| 18 | 1.3 | |
| 19 | 1.2 | |
| 20 | 1.1 | |
| 21 | 0.2 | |
| 22 | 0.1 | |
| 23 | 0.1 | |
| 24 | 0.1 | |
| 25 | 0 | |
| 26 | 0 | |
| 27 | 0 | |
| EU27 (W/capita) | 58.5 | |
Solar heating
| Country | Total (2009) | Total (2008) | add 2006 | add 2005 | add 2004 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 8,896,300 | 7,765,800 | 1 050 000 | 665 000 | 525 000 | |||
| Greece Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... |
2,851,940 | 2,707,740 | 168 000 | 154 350 | 150 500 | |||
| Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
2,517,812 | 2,268,231 | 204 868 | 163 429 | 127 816 | |||
| Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
1,404,361 | 1 124 361 | 130 200 | 88 941 | 68 417 | |||
| France | 1,371,370 | 1,136,870 | 154 000 | 85 050 | 36 400 | |||
| Spain | 1,261,516 | 987,816 | 122 500 | 74 760 | 63 000 | |||
| Cyprus Cyprus Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the... |
514,640 | 485,240 | 42 000 | 35 000 | 21 000 | |||
| Poland Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... |
356,902 | 255,973 | 28 980 | 19 390 | 20 230 | |||
| Portugal Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the... |
345,338 | 223,265 | 14 000 | 11 200 | 7 000 | |||
| UK | 332,514 | 270,144 | 37 800 | 19 600 | 17 500 | |||
| Denmark Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... |
330,946 | 292,796 | 17 710 | 14 875 | 14 000 | |||
| Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
285,139 | 254,339 | 10 280 | 14 174 | 18 410 | |||
| Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
217,362 | 202,445 | 19 977 | 15 835 | 14 041 | |||
| Belgium Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... |
203,593 | 188,263 | 24 945 | 14 164 | 10 290 | |||
| Czech Republic Czech Republic The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest.... |
147,854 | 115,570 | 15 421 | 10 885 | 8 575 | |||
| Slovenia Slovenia Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of... |
111,510 | 96,110 | 4 830 | 3 360 | 1 260 | |||
| Slovakia Slovakia The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south... |
<100,000 | 66,675 | 5 950 | 5 250 | 3 850 | |||
| Romania Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea... |
<100,000 | 66 010 | 280 | 280 | 280 | |||
| Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... |
<100,000 | 52,080 | 3 500 | 2 450 | 1 400 | |||
| Malta Malta Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in... |
<100,000 | 24,752 | 3 150 | 2 800 | 2 951 | |||
| Bulgaria Bulgaria Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east... |
<100,000 | 22,120 | 1 540 | 1 400 | 1 260 | |||
| Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... |
<100,000 | 17,705 | 2 380 | 1 668 | 1 141 | |||
| Hungary Hungary Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The... |
<100,000 | 17,675 | 700 | 700 | 1 050 | |||
| Luxembourg Luxembourg Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south... |
<100,000 | 15,750 | 1 750 | 1 330 | 1 190 | |||
| Latvia Latvia Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden... |
<100,000 | 5,005 | 840 | 700 | 350 | |||
| Lithuania Lithuania Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark... |
<100,000 | 3,003 | 420 | 350 | 350 | |||
| Estonia Estonia Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies... |
<100,000 | 1,379 | 210 | 175 | 175 | |||
| EU27+CH GWth |
19.08 | 2.10 | 1.43 | 1.14 | ||||
| * = The relation between collector area and capacity: m2 = 0.7 kWthermal | ||||||||
Biofuels
| Biofuels | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consumption 2005 (GWh) | Consumption 2006 (GWh) | Consumption 2007 (GWh) | ||||||
| No | Country | Total | Total | Biodiesel Biodiesel Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol.... |
Bioethanol | Total | Biodiesel | Bioethanol |
| 1 | * | 21,703 | 40,417 | 29,447 | 3,544 | 46,552 | 34,395 | 3,408 |
| 2 | 4,874 | 8,574 | 6,855 | 1,719 | 16,680 | 13,506 | 3,174 | |
| 3 | 920 | 3,878 | 3,878 | 0 | 4,524 | 4,270 | 254 | |
| 4 | 1,583 | 1,961 | 629 | 1,332 | 4,341 | 3,031 | 1,310 | |
| 5 | 793 | 2,097 | 1,533 | 563 | 4,055 | 3,148 | 907 | |
| 6 | * | 1,938 | 2,587 | 523 | 1,894 | 3,271 | 1,158 | 2,113 |
| 7 | 2 | 818 | 818 | 0 | 1,847 | 1,847 | 0 | |
| 8 | 2 059 | 1,732 | 1,732 | 0 | 1,621 | 1 621 | 0 | |
| 9 | 96 | 96 | 0 | 1,308 | 539 | 769 | ||
| 10 | 481 | 1 102 | 491 | 611 | 1,171 | 180 | 991 | |
| 11 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 1,061 | 1,061 | 0 | |
| 12 | 32 | 540 | 540 | 0 | 940 | 940 | 0 | |
| 13 | 97 | 226 | 162 | 64 | 612 | 477 | 135 | |
| 14 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 407 | 397 | 10 | |
| 15 | 33 | 226 | 213 | 13 | 382 | 380 | 2 | |
| 16 | 58 | 50 | 48 | 2 | 160 | 151 | 9 | |
| 17 | 110 | 153 | 149 | 4 | 154 | n.a. | 154 | |
| 18 | 28 | 139 | 4 | 136 | 107 | 0 | 107 | |
| 19 | 0 | 371 | 172 | 179 | 101 | n.a. | 101 | |
| 20 | 9 | 36 | 8 | 13 | 97 | 27 | 54 | |
| 21 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 42 | 70 | 0 | 70 | |
| 22 | 34 | 29 | 17 | 12 | 20 | 0 | 20 | |
| 23 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 | n.a. | n.a. | |
| 24 | – | 32 | 32 | 0 | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| 25 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 0 | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| 26 | 0 | 7 | 0 | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| 27 | EU | 34,796 | 65,148 | 47,380 | 10,138 | 89,482 | 67,154 | 13,563 |
| *Total includes vegetable oils in Germany: 7309 GWh (2006) and 2018 GWh (2005) and biogas in Sweden: 225 GWh (2006) and 160 GWh (2005), n.a. = not available | ||||||||
See also
- List of renewable energy topics by country
- Climate change in the European UnionClimate change in the European UnionThe mitigation of anthropogenic climate change in the European Union is being addressed through a number of measures.- Hydrofluorocarbons :...
- DesertecDesertecDESERTEC is a concept proposed by the DESERTEC Foundation for making use of solar energy and wind energy. This concept will be implemented in North Africa and the Middle East by the consortium Dii GmbH, formed by a group of European companies and the DESERTEC Foundation...
- Economy of the European UnionEconomy of the European UnionThe economy of the European Union generates a GDP of over €12,279.033 billion according to the International Monetary Fund , making it the largest economy in the world...
- EKOenergyEKOenergyEKOenergy label is an international ecolabel for energy. It is managed by the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation in cooperation with the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation...
ecolabel for energy - Energie-CitésEnergie-CitésEnergy Cities, previously named Energie-Cités, is the European Association of local authorities focused on energy use. It represents 1000 towns and cities in 30 countries. From 2009 to 2011, Energy Cities is under the Presidency of the City of Heidelberg...
- Environment in the European Union
- Eugene Green Energy StandardEugene Green Energy StandardThe Eugene Green Energy Standard was an international standard to which national or international green electricity labelling schemes could be accredited to confirm that they provide genuine environmental benefits...
- European Energy Research Alliance
- European Renewable Energy CouncilEuropean Renewable Energy CouncilThe European Renewable Energy Council was founded in 2000 by the European renewable energy industry, trade and research associations. EREC is located in the Renewable Energy House in Brussels, a monument protected building with 100% renewable energy supply for heating and cooling.EREC acts as a...
- European Photovoltaic Industry AssociationEuropean Photovoltaic Industry AssociationThe European Photovoltaic Industry Association is the world’s largest solar photovoltaic industry association, representing around 95 percent of the European photovoltaic industry and 80 percent of the worldwide PV industry...
(EPIA). - European Pollutant Emission RegisterEuropean Pollutant Emission RegisterThe European Pollutant Emission Register is a Pollutant Release and Transfer Register providing access to information on the annual emissions of industrial facilities in the Member States of the European Union , as well as Norway...
(EPER) - Fraunhofer SocietyFraunhofer SocietyThe Fraunhofer Society is a German research organization with 60 institutes spread throughout Germany, each focusing on different fields of applied science . It employs around 18,000, mainly scientists and engineers, with an annual research budget of about €1.65 billion...
- IDAE
- Intelligent Energy Europe
- Renewable energy commercializationRenewable energy commercializationRenewable energy commercialization involves the deployment of three generations of renewable energy technologies dating back more than 100 years. First-generation technologies, which are already mature and economically competitive, include biomass, hydroelectricity, geothermal power and heat...
- Renewable energy development
- REN21REN21REN21, the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, is a policy network that provides a forum for international leadership in renewable energy policy, in order to share knowledge and facilitate the rapid growth of renewable energy technologies in developing countries and industrialised...
- Transport in the European Union
- U4energy
Further reading
- Joanna Krzeminska, Are Support Schemes for Renewable Energies Compatible with Competition Objectives? An Assessment of National and Community Rules, Yearbook of European Environmental Law (Oxford University Press), Volume VII, Nov. 2007, p. 125
In the media
- 11 September 1999, The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
: Renewable energy across Europe - 23 March 2007, The BBC: EU environmental achievements by Commissioner Dimas.
External links
- Eurostat - Statistics Explained - Renewable energy statistics
- Europe's Energy Portal European platform for energy efficiency and renewable energy.
- Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources
- ManagEnergy, for energy efficiencyEfficient energy useEfficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature...
and renewable energiesRenewable energyRenewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
at the local and regional level. - Reegle: Information Gateway For Renewable Energy And Energy Efficiency
- 34% from renewables in the EU by 2020?