European Commission To Member States: Follow Our Lead for Renewable Energy Policy

New Hampshire, USA -- The European Commission has offered up some new guidelines about managing electricity markets among its Member States, offering direction for design and support schemes for renewable energy, managing capacity, and addressing demand at the consumer level to mitigate new generation investments -- which, while technically not binding, likely will inform future regional environmental and aid policies.

Renewable power generation is fast approaching parity with non-renewables, though in general any new generation type is more costly than market prices for electricity, according to recent analysis from the International Energy Agency. But those IEA studies are "not comparable [nor] fully applicable" to future energy policy directions, says the EC, so it is undertaking its own analysis of cost comparisons and subsidies of various technologies, pledging to issue its report next June.

While supportive of Member States' efforts to establish an internal electricity market for Europe by 2014, the EC underscores the needs to adhere to European Union policies about secure and competitively priced supplies, renewable energy and climate change objectives, and energy efficiency improvements. Thus, it is stepping forward to "define the role, level and nature of public intervention, in line with the principle of subsidiarity, at Union, regional, national or local level." (Here's the PDF of the EC's proposals and explanations.)

Specifically for renewable energy (admittedly focused on solar and wind), the EC suggests adapting policies and rules for state intervention to recognize future market needs. That means letting the market dictate investment and production decisions, and thus gradually phasing out feed-in tariffs (FIT) and moving towards other "supportive instruments" more tied to market pricing, such as auctions and tenders, feed-in premiums, and quota obligations. (Other types of support such as domestic content requirements, the EC advises, "might not be in line with the EU acquis.") Cooperation mechanisms also should be pursued, seeking to leverage renewable energy opportunities across Member State borders, including joint projects and support schemes. Unannounced or retroactive scheme changes should be avoided to preserve investor confidence, says the EC -- quite likely a memo to Spain about its recent legislative about-face. Renewable energy support and goals ought to align more closely with Europe's carbon emissions trading schemes, says the EC, and these principles and directions it is laying out for public intervention in electricity markets could also be applied in other sectors, such as heating and transportation. All the EC's recommendations and discussions, including examples of standardized forms, are listed here within individual working documents.

While the EC acknowledges all these guidelines and recommendations are not legally binding to Member States, it urges that they will be applied when the EC assesses state interventions into renewable energy support schemes or capacity mechanisms, and will "guide the future enforcement of EU state aid rules and future proposals for EU energy legislation." The EC is currently prepping a draft for guidelines due next year on environmental and energy aid for 2014-2020.

Broadly speaking the EC's proposals are well-timed, encouraging Member States to take the lead on deployment of renewable energy while raising broader issues of generation, availability to the EC's level, notes the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA). However, many of the EC's recommendations such as "competitive allocation mechanisms" and auction processes emphasize factors relevant to large-scale renewable energy efforts, and would tend to ignore or lock out smaller distributed-generation efforts and self-consumption, the EPIA notes. And adjusting renewable energy support schemes to be more market-based wrongly assumes that there's a level playing field in the market to begin with; "requesting market responsiveness from renewables would be putting the cart before the horse," says EPIA policy director Frauke Thies.

The EC also calls for Member States to assess and address "generation inadequacy" and whether and how to incorporate ancillary services into the equation particularly to balance renewable energy. This is especially important and needs to be "harmonized" across Europe as a whole, notes the EPIA, adding that the EC should emphasize it even more, particularly development of aggregation strategies. The group also thinks the EC must offer more direction in flexibility requirements such as demand response and energy storage, and rewarding more flexible generation assets.

View the original article here

European Investment Bank (EIB) cut lending to fossil plants, supports renewables

London-the European Investment Bank (EIB), the world's largest public financial institution, has announced that effective immediately, it no longer the most coal, brown coal and oil fired power plants in Europe its climate targets to meet as an aid for finance is.

The announcement comes on the heels of a similar announcement by the World Bank, which has said, that it support "only in rare cases." will power plants in the developing world for coal

At a meeting this week that the EIB Board of Directors agreed to introduce an emissions performance standard (EPS) for energy projects, investments in power plants for fossil fuels, which have not implemented the emission technologies, which is effectively blocked the emitting more than 550 g/CO2 per kWh, screen. Coal plants get more funding, if with carbon capture and storage (CCS) and power (CHP) or cogeneration, biomass co-fire technology in place.

The Board said that the standards, after an eight-month consultation over 80 industry associations, national committees and individual companies, are designed to strengthen support for investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency in Europe. Richard Willis, press officer of the EIB said REW, that the move "our ongoing focus towards renewable energies opens so far and reflects how we see our primary focus on investments in the coming years." Green as the WWF welcomed said the step but it does not go far enough, and some Member States had reportedly urged groups, the more stringent standards will be implemented immediately.

"In determining at what level the EPS set we nature of emissions across a range of technologies saw,", said Willis. "We have set a standard unanimously by all Member States which reflects current policy but the guidelines no longer still because we were asked that we review and consider also the exceptions that are in place to ensure we concentrate primarily on networks, renewable energy and energy efficiency."

Two exceptions to the standard, which it more financing for coal-fired plants, to the security of supply or allow "contribute to the alleviation of poverty and economic development", contribute in other regions of Europe, have been marked by green groups.

"We decided that the total new guidelines would be considered in the autumn of next year – this is normal that every initiative, which committed the Bank," said Willis. "We look to see if the level the difference between projects continue to the 550 g figure reflected, or whether technology improves, so we had a lower number, the more [] emission reduction and biomass investment would allow." He also speculated that "much stronger set" climate goals the next year's European elections most could follow the time ", which would be taken into account."

A number of Member States have highlighted the continuing importance of the gas as a transitional technology to a low-carbon economy, and the EIB said Willis recognizes this, although he didn't say what specific measures have been taken. But he said, "really, our main focus is for 90 per cent of our future commitments are in the areas of renewable energy, energy efficiency and grid networks to ensure that renewable energy can have an important role in Europe's energy mix." Investments in the network infrastructure is crucial, he said, and "no single Government or institution, who pay for it can alone; Companies are stretched. We can play a role as an important source of funding and a supporting role in providing technical assistance. As co-financier, we support about one-third of project funding on average, but can we contribute up to 50 percent, we can help, in other financial sources, often from other banks to bring, which is not such a big focus and exposure to renewable energy but are happy, with other much-needed capital for long-term investments to work."

Earlier this week signed a financing bank with Dutch grid operator TenneT for new grid infrastructure, linking the North Sea to Northern Germany and today the Bank and Spanish utility Iberdrola signed a loan agreement for €200 milliion for promoting the modernisation of the electricity network in Spain. Such net investment "is key to the use of not only existing investments in renewable energies, but also new investment as it comes forward", said Willis.

I am delighted, he concluded that "with regard to renewable energy, we realize that on a snapshot from year to year based on investment in the face of the different energy markets and regime varies. We are closely related to most of the larger projects but also always on the lookout for ways to work through intermediary banks to support smaller systems. We have a continuing role in other sources of financial support renewable energy: banks that can't our commitment on renewable energy to engage. We see this in major projects in the North Sea and in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere."

View the original article here

UN inspectors arrive in the Iran for nuclear talks

(Reuters) - a team of UN inspectors was denied in Tehran on Monday for talks on Iran's nuclear program, a day after the Islamic Republic obviously as retaliation for the strengthening of EU sanctions ordered a stop to the British and French company of its oil.

The European Union angrily Tehran last month when it decided to a boycott of its oil from 1 July. Iran, the world's largest oil exporter, responded with a warning, the Strait of Hormuz, to close the main Gulf oil shipping lane.

On Sunday, its oil Ministry went a step of further, announcing that Iran has now stopped selling oil to French and British companies, a movement, but little or no effect on the supply is achieved with France or United Kingdom.

"Export of crude oil, British and French companies stopped..." "We sell our oil to new customers," spokesman Alireza Nikzad was quoted: on the website of the Ministry.

Iran, which denies Western accusations that it wants to make nuclear weapons, has driven in recent weeks also willingness to resume of the negotiations highly on its nuclear program his rhetoric.

The five-member team of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will hold two days of talks in the Iran, but Western diplomats have played down any hope of a breakthrough.

"I'm still pessimistic that Iran will demonstrate substantive collaboration," said a Minister Plenipotentiary in Vienna.

But the results this week talks is important and will be monitored closely because it could either increase the confrontation or travel offer to reduce tensions.

The European Commission says that the block was not short of oil, if Iran crude oil exports stopped when it has enough stock to his needs for approximately 120 days.

Industry sources said that European oil buyers already large cuts in the purchases of Iran made months in advance of the EU sanctions.

French and Dutch/oil, which but overall were total and shell large buyer of Iranian crude oil already stopped buying Iran and traders last week had said that Shell had scaled back sharply.

Shell, which has refused to comment on his commerce with the Iran was one of the largest consumer of Iranian crude worldwide, with about 100,000 barrels per day in Europe and about the same amount of the Japanese subsidiary Showa Shell.

Latest EU data for the third quarter of 2011, shows that the oil sales in the UK fell to 0 (zero) and France imported 75,000 barrels per day, only 6 per cent of its crude oil imports. Iranian crude interruption between European countries is exposed on the most debt-ridden Greece.

MILITARY IMPACT?

Iran says its nuclear program is entirely peaceful, but its refusal to curb uranium enrichment, which can have both civilian and military purposes, has concerns.

Western powers not with violence against the Iran excluded, and it has an intense public debate in Israel whether it be, however, an atomic bomb Iran should attack.

The top U.S. officer said on Sunday that a military strike is premature, since it was not clear that Tehran would use its nuclear capabilities to build a nuclear bomb.

"I think it is unclear (, that Iran would build a bomb) and on this basis, I think it would be premature, only decide that the time for a military option to us, was", said General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the US military of Joint Chiefs of staff.

He said that he believed that the Iranian Government is a "rational actors."

In the West has some optimism about the prospect of fresh talks with Tehran, said, especially after it promised last week, "new initiatives" to the table bring sent a letter to EU foreign policy Chief Catherine Ashton.

"In these negotiations, we find a way out of the Iranian nuclear issue, current so that both sides win," Iranian TV quoted Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi on Sunday.

Oil, a major component of Iran's export revenues and an important lifeline for the increasingly isolated economy is on. It has little refining capacity and has about 40 percent of the need to import gasoline for domestic consumption.

Pressed tightened sanctions, combined with high inflation, have to feed the ability of the working class Iranians to themselves and their families, and this uncertainty provides the setting for a parliamentary vote on March 2.