Committee on Industry, Research and

Energy (ITRE)

Unlimited possibilities:
Considering the huge energetic potential that renewable energy sources based on
wind, water and sun provide, how should the EU exploit its unlimited resources
in order to reach its climate targets for 2030?
Research

What is renewable energy?

Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources, which are naturally
replenished on a human timescale, such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal
heat

Renewable energy can be produced from a wide variety of sources including wind, solar, hydro,
tidal, geothermal, and biomass. By using more renewables to meet its energy needs, the EU
lowers its dependence on imported fossil fuels and makes its energy production more
sustainable. The renewable energy industry also drives technological innovation and
employment across Europe.

The European Union consumes a massive amount of fuel. Out of this consumption, a massive
amount of the energy comes from nuclear power, natural gas, coal, and oil. However, despite
this massive amount of consumption of fossil fuels and nuclear power, the continent is looking
to decrease its reliance and move increasingly towards renewable fuel.

The European Union has already announced that it plans to move away from nuclear power.
Nuclear power, while it releases minimal contaminants, has the risk of a meltdown. At the same
time, it releases long-term environmental contamination. As a result, the European Union has
announced that it is turning away from nuclear power, which along with other decisions, should
promote renewable energy.

A decision by the European Union has the potential to turn Europe into the next major
renewable market.

EU countries have agreed on a new 2030 Framework for climate and energy, including EU-wide
targets and policy objectives for the period between 2020 and 2030. These targets aim to help
the EU achieve a more competitive, secure and sustainable energy system and to meet its long-
term 2050 greenhouse gas reductions target.
  Targets for 2030

-a 40% cut in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 levels

-at least a 27% share of renewable energy consumption

- at least 27% energy savings compared with the business-as-usual scenario.

Policies for 2030

To meet the targets, the European Commission has proposed:

 A reformed EU emissions trading scheme (ETS)

 New indicators for the competitiveness and security of the energy system, such as price
differences with major trading partners, diversification of supply, and interconnection
capacity between EU countries
 First ideas for a new governance system based on national plans for competitive,
secure, and sustainable energy. These plans will follow a common EU approach. They
will ensure stronger investor certainty, greater transparency, enhanced policy coherence
and improved coordination across the EU.

The strategy sends a strong signal to the market, encouraging private investment in new
pipelines, electricity networks, and low-carbon technology. The targets are based on a thorough
economic analysis that measures how to cost-effectively achieve decarbonisation by 2050.

The cost of meeting the targets does not substantially differ from the price we will need to pay in
any case to replace our ageing energy system. The main financial effect of decarbonisation will
be to shift our spending away from fuel sources and towards low-carbon technologies.

Anyways, some countries have already achieved the tagets for 2020(Romania included), of
course... having a long way until achieving the targets for 2030, but countries really do take
action in this sense so it is really possible to achieve these targets.
The advantages of renewable energy

Renewable energy is the future,the future we desire to have. Renewables are inexhaustable
and they are a great way to protect the planet and avoid pollution for us and the future
generations to come.

While some regions and countries in the past have grown wealthy and benefitted from their
proximity to coal, gas, and oil reserves, not all places have access fossil fuels, which has made
economic development difficult in some areas. However, nearly every town has access to
sunlight, wind, and the geothermal power from the Earth, so harnessing these sources of
renewable energy could be a great force, offering affordable and plentiful power to every corner
of the globe, if humanity wants to take this step ahead.

What is the general attitude of the public on renewable energies?

Well, i believe that everyone would want a better future and to be less dependent of fossil fuels,
but the truth is the majority of the people will not do anything for this unless they actually "feel"
the benefits.

That's why some countries in Europe have decided that they should and must inform people
about the benefits that renewables create
 Renewable energy facilities generally require less maintenance than traditional
generators. Their fuel being derived from natural and available resources reduces the
costs of operation.

 Even more importantly, renewable energy produces little or no waste products such as
carbon dioxide or other chemical pollutants, so has minimal impact on the environment.

 In Germany, a typical four-person family household can save almost €680 each
year on its annual electricity costs by installing a 4 kWp PV system;

 In Italy, an average household can save about €720 per year on its electricity bill, with
a pay-back period of about 7-9 years, depending on the region;[9]

 Small- and medium-sized enterprises can also benefit from renewables. For example,
an Italian food-processing company installed a rooftop solar panel on its production
facility and used 89% of the solar panel electricity produced on site (this is known as
the self-consumption rate). This resulted in an annual electricity bill saving of about
35% and an annual reduction in CO2 emissions of over 200 tons.

Which countries are performing the best?

The good news is that 11 member states have already achieved their 2020 targets.
Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Croatia, Estonia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, Czech
Republic and Hungary have all met or exceeded their national targets.

Other countries are very close: Austria and Slovakia are only about 1% below their 2020
target.

But others are way off. Major European economies like Germany, France and the UK
have not yet met their targets.
What kind of measures have the EU member stated taken in order to meet their
targets set?

Having achieved a share of 16% renewables in its final energy consumption in 2014 and
an estimated share of close to 16.4% in 2015, the EU as a whole is well on track to
reach its 20% target by 2020. However, Member States will have to keep up their efforts
in order to reach their national goals.

Europe as a whole is performing well in its deployment of renewables. In 2011,

renewables generated 21.7% of the EU's electricity; three years later, this figure has
reached 27.5%, and it is expected to climb to 50% by 2030. The EU's initial efforts in
promoting the use of renewables facilitated this continued growth which resulted in
lowered renewable costs: the prices of photovoltaic modules fell by 80% between the
end of 2009 and the end of 2015. Renewables have now become cost-competitive, and
sometimes even cheaper than fossil fuels.

The renewable energy sector plays a key role for the EU economy with a turnover of
around €144bn in 2014 and more than one million people employed.

Written by Stefan Ciuntu

Committee on Industry, Research and
Energy (ITRE),Suceava