The EU Directive 2001/77/EC proved to be a milestone in the promotion of renewable energy in Europe. It triggered the development of renewable energy to varying degrees in EU Member States and in some countries, whole new industries have emerged within the last few years.
A new milestone has now been reached with the new EU Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources. This Directive amends and replaces Directive 2001/77/EC by expanding its scope of application. It is envisaged that by the year 2020, 20% of Europe's energy will be gained from renewable sources. In order to reach this target, every Member State will have to fulfil an individual threshold.
In addition, the new Directive obliges every Member State to enhance its energy-efficiency by 20% and sets a target of 10% for energy from renewable sources in the field of public and private transport.
However, most renewable technologies still require subsidies and other support mechanisms in order to compete with conventional technologies. Against this backdrop, CMS, a pre-eminent provider of high quality legal and tax advice in Europe, with extensive knowledge of the renewable energy sector has published a study comparing the schemes implemented by governments across Europe to encourage the roll-out of renewable energies.
“Overall, we believe that the Guide gives an invaluable overview of the position on renewables across Europe which is vital for those looking to develop renewable power. It also provides a benchmark as to what is the best in each country which hopefully will lead to the best approaches being developed by businesses and governments across Europe in this important area,” explains Robert Lane, Head of CMS’s Regulated Industries Team.
There are three main types of schemes which promote the development and use of renewable energy sources: a system of feed-in-tariffs, a system of “green bonuses” and a system of green certificates. CMS has found that every Member State has implemented its strategy in different ways; for instance, some have made distinctions regarding the duration of guaranteed payments (up to 20 years) or by the amount of subsidies.
"What we discovered in doing the study was that the commitment to renewables is moving in different directions and at different paces in the different European countries reviewed, and the landscape for investors looking at renewable investments is shifting as a consequence," comments Munir Hassan, Partner in the Energy & Utilities team, and Head of Clean Energy at CMS in London. "The UK and Germany are very attractive at present, for example, particularly with the bespoke arrangements in place for supporting offshore wind, while countries such as Belgium seem to be going slow at present in incentivising new (particularly large scale) renewable projects."
The "Comparative Study on the Main Renewable Energy Support Mechanisms in European Jurisdictions - 2010" also includes the mechanisms pursued by some non-EU Member States in order to highlight their increasing efforts to promote renewable energy.
The CMS study is available here:
Comparative Study on the Main Renewable Energy Support Mechanisms in European Jurisdictions - 2010
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