Promotion of Renewable Electricity in the European Union

Abstract

Initiated by strong EU commitments EU Member States have formulated sets of national support mechanisms to promote the deployment of renewable electricity in their home markets. These combined efforts have resulted in a strong uptake of renewable electricity in Europe, with 14% of the overall electricity supply coming from renewable energy sources in 2004. As the coordination of support mechanisms at the European level is lacking, each Member State has chosen its own set of instruments, each with its own technology specifics and eligibility requirements. Current discussions focus on the need, drawbacks and benefits of formulating a harmonised European support framework. Harmonised or not, the further improvement of support mechanisms should be complemented by addressing non-economic barriers to RES-E implementation such as insufficient grid capacity, complicated authorisation procedures and long lead times.

Governance for Green Electrity: Formation of Rules between Market and Hierarchy

“…In parallel also policy developments occurred at the European level, in particular the 2001 directive on renewable energy that required member states to recognise guarantees of origin exclusively as proof that the underlying electricity is produced with renewable sources [24]. Most European countries use feed-in tariffs to support renewable energy development, and a small number of European countries used the certificate system in combination with quota obligations set for renewable energy, notably Belgium, Italy, Sweden, Poland and the UK [25]. The Dutch support system has been rather volatile: shifting from supply oriented investment subsidies in the early 1990s to a more demand-oriented support with green labels and tax rebates for users from 1996-2002.…”