François Hollande
Socialist candidate François Hollande may have won the first round of the French elections, but what are his plans for wind energy if he manages to pip Nicholas Sarkozy to head the country in the second round next month. And, if Mr Sarkozy manages to turn the situation around and retain his title, is he likely to support renewables during a second term as the president of France?
Unsurprisingly, renewable energy was not the main consideration of the majority of the French voters on Sunday. Indeed, despite the clear need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and Europe’s commitment to be leader in the fight against climate change, Green candidate Eva Joly received only 2% of the French votes. However, after the initial result was announced, Joly immediately called for her supporters to vote for Hollande in the second round.
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Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark at EWEA 2012
The EWEA Annual Event 2012 in Copenhagen has now drawn to a close. But what were the main messages of the Chairs of the six themed “tracks” – from policy to financing – to the wind energy industry and politicians?
Uncertainty is very high in the market, in particular for the post-2020 years, Jan Serup Hylleberg, Chair of the policies and markets track, said at the final panel session on Thursday. “Long term stability and effective mechanisms are needed from the political side to grow the industry,” he said. continue reading »
In just under one month, Copenhagen will be home to Europe’s biggest wind energy conference and exhibition – EWEA 2012. The EWEA blog caught up with Emmanuelle Raoult, Chair of a session which delves into Europe’s progress on meeting the 20% renewable energy by 2020 target, to find out the current state of play…
What are National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs) and why are they important?
NREAPs are detailed roadmaps of how each EU Member State expects to reach its legally binding 2020 targets. These are essential for Europe’s energy future, and can deliver the strong and stable regulatory framework that is needed to develop renewable energy in Europe. Furthermore, NREAPs give the renewables industry ‘business case certainty’ – a key driver to attract investment in renewable energy. As wind energy projects are 20+ year investments, decreasing the risk of regulatory volatility is paramount to achieving an acceptable return on investment. NREAPs – if properly implemented – help reduce uncertainty.
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At the end of last week EU environment ministers met to discuss how to fix the EU’s emissions trading system (ETS) by raising the price of carbon. The EWEA blog spoke to Rémi Gruet, EWEA’s senior regulatory affairs advisor on climate change, to discover just what the ETS does and why the EU needs a higher carbon price.
What is the emissions trading system?
The ETS is a kind of market that puts a price on carbon emissions. Big polluters – mainly the power sector – are legally required to limit their carbon emissions. If they emit less than their limit they can sell carbon ‘permits’ on the market, and if they emit more they can buy carbon ‘permits’.
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Christian Kjaer, EWEA CEO
The European Wind Energy Association is celebrating its 30 year anniversary in 2012. This is an organisation that has gone from humble beginnings when a small group of engineers in Stockholm in 1982 first discussed it, to now speaking for 700 members in almost 60 countries around the world. The growth of EWEA has mirrored the growth of the industry.
EWEA initially represented what was seen as an ‘alternative’ power source. It quickly became the voice of a multi-billion wind industry, one which employs hundreds of thousands of people in the EU and exports European technology around the world.
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