D5 Stand
D5 Geothermal
D4 Press conference
D4 Planet earth
D4 General view
D4 Entenergy
Concerto programme helping European cities make energy savings
Concerto is a platform that allows European cities to pool their ideas and experiences as they develop the most up-to-date and advanced concepts for so-called ‘eco-buildings’, for example buildings that are powered using renewable technologies or are highly energy efficient. Speaking on the final day of the EU’s Sustainable Energy Week, the Director General of the European Commission’s directorate general for energy and transport, Matthias Ruete said: “The focus is on existing and new buildings, renovation of buildings into ultra high performance buildings.”
He explained that, before 2012, if all the measures discussed by the 46 cities taking part in the initiative are implemented, this will lead to an “enormous” energy gain, corresponding to four large power plants. Currently there are 46 cities involved in 18 EU member states. Ruete said that the ambition was to cover all 27 member states and more cities. He pointed out that “we’re moving in the second phase now and more and more new member states [Ed: those that joined from 2004 onwards] are joining in.”
The Concerto programme does not just cover EU countries. For example, Geneva is a ‘Concerto city’. State Councillor for the Department of Territory for the Republic and State of Geneva Robert Cramer explained that Switzerland had changed its constitution to put the focus on renewables and energy savings and not to use nuclear energy. Geneva is developing a project using water from lake Geneva to both heat and cool buildings under the Concerto programme. Given the huge increase in the use of air conditioning, this could be a very good model for those cities with lakes nearby. The buildings covered range from big international organisations to big industrial players to those in an urban development programme.
Ruete also announced that the Commission was planning a proposal to strengthen the existing Energy Performance Buildings Directive, a piece of EU law that has been around since 2002. He described it as “a very important directive”, adding that “80% of man-made CO2 is emitted in cities and 40% of all our energy is used in buildings”. Currently, the directive only covers around 30% of all buildings in the EU and only buildings greater than 1,000 metres squared undergoing major renovation. The Commission’s aim is for the directive to cover a lot more than 30% of buildings.
Other Commission proposals he referred to were to replace existing light bulbs in street lighting with energy efficient ones, looking at ways to get people out of their cars and using other different types of transport in cities and encouraging bidders for public procurement contracts to provide a lifecyle analysis of vehicles (in terms of their CO2 emissions and use of petrol for example) rather than just the cost of the vehicle.
Noting that a lot of people see energy efficiency as a “silver bullet solution” to Europe’s energy problems, he said that this was in reality a “hard slog” but that measures, such as labelling tyres or household appliances and certificates for the energy performance of buildings, were being developed.
Plenty of ‘cool’ stands at the EU’s Sustainable Energy Week
An ‘ice block bet’, Bob the builder, an ice bar and an ‘eco-driving’ simulator were just three of the many attractions that have been on display in the Charlemagne building in Brussels during the EU’s Sustainable Energy Week from 28 January to 1 February.
‘Ice block bet’
So what was the ‘ice block bet’? A huge block of ice, between one and two tonnes, was put in a very well insulated cabin. It was then exposed to weather conditions from spring to summer. Participants had to bet what percentage of the ice was left after a given period with prizes such as home energy audits on offer. The message is that anyone starting to build a house or renovate a building can easily save a huge amount of energy (helping to combat climate change and saving money at the same time) by, for example, installing thermal insulation. The energy saving potential of a well insulated house (ie a very low energy or passive house) is between 50 and 90% compared to a standard new build or existing building, says the European Insulation Manufacturers’ Association (EURIMA), which co-organised the ‘ice block bet’ event with the Climate Alliance (a network of around 1,400 European local authorities).
Bob the builder
Children’s character Bob the builder also put in a ‘constructive’ appearance at an ice bar run by EURIMA. His motto is “reduce, reuse and recycle”, according to EURIMA, which has produced a study called ‘Better Buildings through Energy Efficiency – a Roadmap for Europe’. The study pinpointed four main categories of principles: regulatory (eg legal norms), economic (eg low interest loans), communicative (eg energy audits) and organisational (eg help desks).
Bikool
On another stand, a company called ‘Bikool’ has been offering tailored bicycle rental packages for company exhibitions or conferences. It said it could offer folding and electrical bicycles for rental, including bicycles customised with the event logo (from 50 bikes upwards) and on-site staff to carry out any necessary repairs.
Eco-driving simulator
Two eco-driving simulators were on show for conference participants to test out to what extent they drive in an environmentally friendly way. Before getting behind the wheel, virtual drivers were given a number of pieces of advice to keep their fuel consumption down, including shifting up through the gears as soon as possible, between 2,000 and 2,500 revolutions per minute and decelerating smoothly without going down through the gears. The stand was run by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, which estimates that 50 million tonnes of CO2 could potentially be saved in Europe by 2010 if people drove in a more fuel efficient way. There was a daily winner on four days of ‘eco-driving’. Using the gears more effectively is one way of cutting fuel consumption but others include checking and adjusting tyre pressure regularly, removing surplus weight and unused roof racks and switching off the engine at short stops.
Carbon capture and storage coming soon…
But there were also plenty of other stands from all over Europe, with representatives from a wide range of different renewable technologies such as biomass, solar energy, geothermal energy, ocean energy, wind energy and hydropower. There was also a stand for a relatively new technique, known as carbon capture and storage, whereby CO2 emissions from, for example coal power stations, are captured and injected underground. The European Commission estimates that this could provide 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions reductions by 2030. Currently, the power sector hardly captures any of its CO2 emissions but estimates point to 60% being captured by 2050. The EU is looking into its safe and environmentally sound use and plans to build 12 large-scale demonstration projects by 2015. In June 2007, a pilot CO2 storage facility, the first of its kind onshore in Europe, was opened in Ketzin, Germany. It is expected to provide valuable knowledge on the practical aspects of the underground storage of CO2 from power generation.
Global Challenges Are Getting More And More Urgent
“The window of opportunity for mitigating the disastrous effects of a runaway climate change is getter smaller and smaller”, attendees of the European Commission’s Sustainable Energy Week in Brussels have been told.
However, effective change can only come if there is a “profound transformation of the European Union’s energy system and of society as a whole”.
This was the message of the Janos Toth, President of the European Economic and Social Committee’s (EESC) Section for Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society, introducing a discussion entitled “Energy Technology Deployment Towards Better Demand Side Management and Higher Efficiency.
Also in attendance was the EU’s Commissioners for Energy, Andris Piebalgs, and representatives of the Belgian authorities.
The round table brought together industry figures, political decision makers and economic and social experts from national and European levels, and sought to promote a greater understanding of how the EU’s ambitious energy policies should be best implemented. Particular emphasis was placed on civil society partners.
Topics for discussion across the event included the EU’s climate and energy objectives, demand side management, the increased use of personal energy, innovation and new technologies, investment issues, and how society can ultimately change its behaviour in the face of new environmental challenges.
The inclusion in the debate of Europe’s civil society is “pivotal” for the success of the EU’s energy policies, said Mr Toth. The EESC, he said, have developed strong expertise in areas such as emissions trading, renewable energy, energy efficiency, biofuels and carbon capture and storage.
It was also noted that the Lisbon Treaty has requested the EESC to “play its advisory role in full”, in fulfilling its energy targets.
Mr Piebalgs used the meeting as an opportunity to give an overview of the EU’s energy policies, with emphasis on energy efficiency and technological developments, which are “both important parts of the integrated energy strategy that the Commission has been developing”.
The current policy, he said, was based on the need for sustainability, competitiveness and security of supply, all of which must be bound together in a “coherent policy approach”.
In the future, the EU will increase the amount of renewable energy it produces, streamline the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), and will push for a “significant advance” in the development of the Internal Market in Energy.
Also announced was the introduction of a strategic energy technology plan that would “put the EU at the forefront of low carbon technology”.
The EU, he said, accepts the “obligation” it has to meet its climate targets of a 20% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020.
To do this, Europe needs “a new transport fleet”, a change of oil-based transports, new supply infrastructures and more electricity production.
Mr Piebalgs concluded by saying that Europe “sets the standards for others to follow”, in a way that also “brings real economic benefit”.
If the EU can lay the foundations of a coherent energy policy, he insisted, then it will at least achieve “an effective global agreement to deal with climate change in the short term”.
Eco friendly SMEs encouraged to present proposals to the EU
Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that promote the use of environmentally friendly energy policies will be entitled to apply for EU funding under a new project aimed at co-financing SME entrepreneurs who wish to contribute to the Union’s future energy plans.
The Eco-Innovation Policy for SMEs, organised by DG Environment, will publish calls for projects in April.
Practical advice and information was offered to potential entrepreneurs as part of the Intelligent Energy Europe Information Day 2008, held during Sustainable Energy Week.
The Information Day aims to provide would-be entrepreneurs with “essential advice and advice on how to develop a good project proposal and apply successfully”, as well as the opportunity to meet and cooperate with potential partners from other areas of Europe.
While Eco-innovation and Intelligent Energy is not the same thing, it was stressed, they are both related, and both hope to promote European entrepreneurship as part of the EU’s plans for a sustainable energy future. Under the Eco Innovation Scheme, SMEs defined here as businesses that employ less than 250 people with a turnover of no more than €50 million per year. Any business which fits these basic criteria can apply for funding under the Programme.
Eco Innovation refers to “all forms of innovation aimed at reducing the environmental impact of businesses, and/or optimising the use of resources”, and projects that promote new services, new processes or new business and management practices are all being welcomed to apply for the €28 million fund.
Anywhere between 40% and 60% of all eligible costs of will be paid by the programme, with the Commission’s contribution being up to €700,000 of individual projects.
The Eco-Innovation Programme aims to “bridge the gap between research and development and market-oriented enterprises”, and interested parties were given a practical and informative guide to the application process by a representative of the Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (EAC) during the European Commission’s Sustainable Energy Week in Brussels.
The new scheme follows on from previous EU initiatives, such as the Lisbon Strategy, which aims to promote knowledge and innovation, the Council meeting of March 2007, which outlined the need to promote eco-innovation, and the Environmental Technology Action Plan (ETAP).
The scope of the policy bridges many sectors, and includes the food and drink industry, particularly those that aim to establish a cleaner, more efficient production process.
Projects also being encouraged to apply for funding are those that promote strategic recycling of materials, and enterprises which innovate in the area of water treatment or the use of rain water, and building projects which utilise environmentally friendly methods in both the commercial and domestic fields.
Another target was that of “smart purchasing”, whereby enterprises promote the use of ecologically friendly design innovations, and encourage eco-innovation into the supply chain. Projects must provide support the EU ideals of added value and innovation, and must be sustainable for a minimum duration of three years.
The call for project proposals is expected to be announced on the 21st of April.
Are free energy markets more sustainable?
When a market is opened up, experts focus their analysis on its macroeconomic consequences: the new business framework, economies of scale, investment opportunities, you name it. However, like any other measure of the European Energy Policy, opening of the markets should also deliver environmental benefits, creating a more sustainable energy supply. I believe that this is the case, and I would like to share this belief with you how, but also hear your comments.
The first advantage citizens are going to experience, or already have, in the new open market scenario is rooted in the very heart of democracy. I mean freedom. Well functioning markets, in which new energy producers have the opportunity to offer energy services to citizens, will bring a real choice for consumers. Since 1st July 2007, all citizens have the legal right to contract their energy services from the company of their choice. Many European consumers are already enjoying these rights and the outcome has been fair prices, innovative products and better service. But in other parts of Europe, where markets are not completely open to competition, this right remains legal, but not real. With the current unbundling rules, companies that control energy production and transmission networks make it difficult to new entrants to use their pipes or their high tension cables to access the markets. This makes it very difficult particularly for small new renewable energy suppliers to have access to the grid in fair conditions.
The Commission expects in the future, as one of the outcomes of the internal market package that new companies will find their place in the market, and new services are going to be created to satisfy the expectations of a more demanding sort of consumer.
Actually, freedom of choice will dramatically change the role of citizens in the field of energy. They will cease to be passive receptors of a service, and become active players in the market. Consumers will be able to get their will taken into consideration simply by changing their energy company. Citizens will be able to change their supplier if they suffer a bad quality service, if under-investment makes them victims of supply interruptions or if the prices offered by their supplier are unacceptably high. Consumers’ freedom of choice will also make them active players in the fight against climate change, since they will be able to choose suppliers that offer low-carbon or renewable energies, if they wish to do so.
Giving people the opportunity to change supplier is only one of the ways in which the new package for the internal energy market will contribute substantially to reduce greenhouse emissions. There are two more. First, competition brings energy efficiency, particularly for electricity producers who will no longer be able to afford high losses of energy in transmission or production. They will try to get as much electricity as they can for each tonne of coal or cubic meter of gas. The less they consume, the less CO2 they will emit. Secondly, the Emissions Trading Scheme needs a well functioning market to be effective. In a close market with captive customers, energy producers simply pass the price of carbon they continue to produce onto the electricity bill of their clients, who cannot do anything other than pay. In an open market CO2 price is a great incentive towards efficiency, low-carbon sources and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies. Needless to say, in such a framework, investing in clean energy research and development will be far more attractive.
The new package of measures will benefit citizens with freedom of choice in an open market. Our experience with other open energy markets means that better prices, innovative products, and high quality service will follow. Where is this justification coming from? As was mentioned before, an open market will also contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and combatting climate change.
And this is why I consider that market liberalisation is both good for the existing energy companies and for others that may be formed in the future, particularly in the field of renewable energies. Breaking national borders and creating a single energy market of 480 million people will certainly offer energy companies new business lines, economies of scale and new investment opportunities. In fact is the natural way forward to protect our climate and the renewable package can it develop successfully.
Intelligent energy projects should be focused locally
Consortia that wish to apply to the European Union for project funding need to make sure their ideas are “focused, targeted, specifically related to a particular region and relevant to the EU as a whole”.
This was the message delivered by the Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (EACI), who have been delivering practical advice to would-be entrepreneurs at the European Commission’s Sustainable Energy Week in Brussels.
Under the 2008 call for proposals, those wishing to avail of EU funding for energy projects could be eligible for up to 75% of total cost if they meet the Commission’s intelligent energy criteria.
The Intelligent Energy Europe Programme is the Commission’s “tool for funding action to improve these conditions and move us towards a more intelligent energy Europe” in the future.
Delegates to the week were taken through the motivation behind the programme, its ambitions for the future, as well as advice for would-be beneficiaries of the scheme.
The call for projects will be published in late February, where around €50 million will be made available to co-finance European projects that aim to promote the use of energy efficiency and renewable, as well as for the establishment of local energy agencies.
Up to 75% of all eligible costs will be supported for successful applicants.
In addition to background information on the Programme, potential applicants also had the opportunity to quiz the Commission on some of the details of the application process.
Anyone is free to apply for project funding, and the Commission is expecting over 400 such applications, ranging from local and regional authorities, private companies, trade associations, non-governmental organisations and others.
While there are no set minimum or maximum project budgets, based on previous schemes, the expectations are between €300,000 and €2 million, although “anything is possible”.
The questions asked ranged from the purely technical and practical aspects of the online application process to the wider aspects of European innovations policy.
From the point of view of the Commission, successful applications will implement “actions that will make a difference to Europe’s energy future. They must be market-led developments that can help transfer knowledge and innovation across Europe. Whatever problem the project wants to solve, that should be made clear”.
One stipulation was that research is not eligible for funding, with an EACI spokesperson insisting that “there will be no stretching of this definition”.
The definition of “training” or “training-needs assessment” would also have to be “very well justified” to qualify under the rules.
Another query was whether or not it was strictly necessary to have a consortium comprised of representatives of three member states. The answer to this being that there has to be three representatives of eligible European countries, not strictly form the EU, such as Croatia or Norway.
One area that the Commission admitted was “tricky” was that of pre-proposal checks, with several enquiries in this area. While this still ahs to be finalised, the EACI spokesperson was quick to point out the Commission’s services are “always there to help”.
Ultimately, all projects “should make a difference at local level. This is an effective way to make the EU work as a whole, and takes the EU forward”.
D3 Round Table: Andris Piebalgs
D3 Round Table
D3 Energy Workshop
