Coal-Heavy Poland Moves to Renewables, Finally

But coal will be king for a long time.

Poland, Europe’s biggest exporter and second-biggest consumer of coal, is cautiously embracing renewables to improve the security of its energy supply and meet European Union targets.

At the end of last month, the country’s upper house of parliament approved the removal of clean power investment roadblocks within a new renewable energy law aimed at putting Poland back on track to meet its EU commitment of 15 percent renewables by 2020. 

Europe Can Double Renewable Energy Share by 2030, IRENA Says

The European Union can boost the share of renewables to 34 percent of its energy mix by 2030, triggering hundreds of billions euros in investment and accelerating reduction of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Lawmakers in the 28-nation bloc are currently discussing policies for the next decade, with the European Parliament calling to increase the share of renewables to at least 35 percent of energy consumption, more than level of 27 percent or more endorsed by the heads of government. That compares with 17 percent reached in 2016 as part of the EU strategy to cut pollution and increase energy security.

Wind in Europe — How Does It Blow?

Europe maintains a healthy market but is looking forward to fresh energy and climate ambitions to add certainty over what the post-2020 landscape will mean for new wind power.

Trade association WindEurope reports that wind power is providing over half of all new generating capacity being installed across the EU member states, with onshore providing the majority.

Some 4.8 GW of new onshore wind was installed in the first half of 2017, with the sector attracting €5.4 billion (US$6.4 billion) in new asset financing over the same period; comparable figures for the offshore sector saw 1.3 GW installed offshore, and €2.9 billion (US$3.4 billion) in financing. WindEurope predicts 2017 will be a record year for installations, with over 10 GW of new onshore wind (3.1 GW offshore) installed across the EU-28.

Global Wind Energy Insight: Offshore Breakthrough

‘A remarkable achievement,’ is the only thing I can say about where the European offshore wind industry finds itself today. It has taken a lot longer and cost a lot more money and effort than we thought back in the late ’90s, but the industry has exceeded its pricing targets by a significant margin and well ahead of the timeframe it set itself, i.e., less than €100/MWh (US$112/MWh) by 2020.

We now have another large-scale and cost-competitive renewable energy technology to add to onshore wind and solar (and of course hydro) with which to bring about the energy revolution in the power sector. Despite all the doubts that emerged over the course of the last decade as projects got larger and more expensive, and as offshore wind struggled to establish and ‘industrialize’ itself, those who have stayed the course are now in a position to reap the rewards.

Energy Round-Up: is a 65% Renewables Target Achievable for Britian?

Last week Jeremy Corbyn pledged that under a future Labour government renewables would cover 65% of our electricity needs by 2030.

Is this achievable? There’s no reason why not.

Others in Europe are already close: renewables power more than 60% of Sweden’s electricity, and 52% of Portugal’s.

It’s true that some of Europe’s most renewable-friendly countries have hydroelectric resources unavailable in the UK, but not all. And besides, the UK’s geography gives us our own advantage: tidal energy, on the verge of taking off. 

DECC wins Energy Bill Battle

Labour spokesman Lord Grantchester withdraws amendment

The Energy Bill is to become law without changes to the government’s grace period criteria for wind farms affected by the early closure of the Renewables Obligation.

Labour’s energy spokesman Lord Grantchester last night withdrew an amendment that would have resulted in an extra 66.3MW capacity from four Scottish wind farms on top of the government-backed grace period wind farms.

Lack of Renewable Energy Policy has Cost Europe $100 Billion

Europe has wasted $100 billion by failing to create a renewable energy policy framework that could have better utilised the region’s natural resources to generate low-carbon power.

The figure was revealed in report published on the eve of the World Economic Forum in Davos, which urges policy-makers to incentivise investments that help minimise or avoid unnecessary costs.

The Money Problem With Germany’s Renewable Energy Law in 3 Charts

The world’s solar leader grapples with how to make its solar policies financially sustainable.

As the German government gets ready for a major overhaul of its landmark renewable energy act, the fundamental problem is cost.

The Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz, or EEG law, set up the country's system of feed-in tariffs (FITs) and mandatory purchases for independent renewable energy producers. This system has been highly successful, driving down solar costs and prices around the world. It has reduced emissions, diversified the power supply, reduced fuel imports, created jobs and driven down wholesale market prices.

EPIA: European Commission State Aid Rules Discriminate Against Small Generation

The European Commission (EC) has adopted new state aid rules, which dictate renewable energy policy design to member states. This includes a requirement for competitive bidding processes for renewable energy plants above 1 MW, and a balancing requirement for all recipients of support.

The new Environmental and Energy Aid Guidelines set requirements for new and revised national support programs during the period 2014-2020. The European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA, Brussels) describes the rules as favoring big energy players, discriminatory to small-scale generation and harmful to reaching 2020 renewable energy targets.

Top EU Companies Call for Strong Renewable Energy Policy

Eight of Europe’s top companies have urged Brussels to produce a strong 2030 climate and energy framework, including an ambitious and legally binding target for the share of renewables in the energy mix of more than 30 per cent. 

In a statement, the group states that a stand-alone, stable and predictable 2030 framework with an ambitious binding renewables target alongside an ambitious binding greenhouse gas reduction target is key to minimising cost.

Germany's Chemical Industry Defends Renewable Energy Tax Break

Chairman of German Chemical Industry Association IG-BCE, Michael Vassiliadis, has warned that plans to abolish the renewable energy levy (EEG-Umlage) exemption, currently benefiting energy-intensive companies in the manufacturing industry, will "massively threaten competitiveness and endanger jobs" in Germany.

Analyst: U.S. Renewable Energy Policy Is Superior To Europe's Policies

One energy analyst is challenging the commonly held belief that European nations' renewable energy policies are more progressive than those in place in the U.S.

"Whisper it quietly," says Jonathan Lane, head of consulting for power utilities at research firm GlobalData. "The U.S. has a more progressive renewable support policy than Europe. In the U.S., the major federal support scheme for renewables - the production tax credit - provides a tax break for renewable generators of $0.022/kWh for 10 years."

Climate policy initiative finds long-term, stable policy support key to reducing cost of financing renewable energy projects

Feed-in-Tariffs (FiTs), Feed-in-Premia (FiPs), and Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) met through long-term power or premium contracts, lowered financing costs in case studies

Climate Policy Initiative (CPI)'s analysis of six large-scale renewable projects in the United States and Europe found that policies can deliver the largest reductions in project financing costs by providing long-term revenue support, offering revenue certainty, and reducing investor perceptions of risk. CPI identified specific ways in which policies affected the cost of finance for these projects and estimated the size of these effects by modeling a range of policy scenarios for each project. The analysis found that: