Phase II of Renewable Energy in America

National Policy Conference

November 28-29

Cannon Caucus Room, Washington, DC

American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE)

It's a real pleasure for me, and a very great opportunity to have the possibility not only to tell you something, what we are doing in Europe, but to have the possibility to discuss the situation in Europe and in the States with you, because I think we, the global society needs the work in all the parts of the world.  Especially we need activities in the States.  Therefore it was a pleasure to agree to come here to Washington to your seminar, to your conference.  Ladies and gentlemen, like the other speakers said it, we are facing great climate and energy challenges.  In the fast coming years we have to respond to two crucial questions.  Two questions that affect every human being on earth, that influence its way of life that challenges all regions in the world, likewise.  First, today climate change is already visible to all of us.  And the majority of the scientists now agree on its reality.  In its recent reports, the thousand scientists of the U.N. IPCC underline that the frequency of having the rainfalls has increased in a drastic way.  That mountain glaciers and snow cover have declined dramatically.  That tropical cyclones have increased intensively.  And we know that these threats are mainly due to an ever-growing emission of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere.  The world energy consumption today is twice as high as at the beginning of the 1970s, while greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 70 percent.  The IPCCs reports point out that the CO2 emissions from energy make around, we note, 80 percent of all greenhouse gases.  And we know that if we want to avoid the worst impact of climate change, we have to change our energy production and usage dramatically.  And second, ladies and gentlemen, we all know that our conventional energy sources are finite.  The lifetime of oil and gas use is about another 60 years.  Our uranium reserves will last about another 70, some say 80, years.  However, our energy supply is almost exclusively waste on conventional energy.  At the same time, the world's population and the global energy demand will increase significantly within the next decades.  Everybody knows that this means finite conventional energy sources cost and an increasing demand results in an unstoppable price increase.  The all time high of $98 per barrel oil is just one of the examples.  Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, the two crucial questions are first, how can we endure sustainable energy consumption, not putting our climate and our life and our planet at serious risks.  And second, how can this apply sufficient energy for everybody?  And I think we all know that the answer to these two challenges is very easy.  We need a major shift in energy production and their usage.  A jointly shift to a new energy policy built on renewable energy sources, energy efficiency and energy savings.  Therefore, I'm happy that the member states of the European Union are working together to tackle the challenges of securing excess to energy and climate protection.  And I'm especially delighted with the European Parliament, is a key driver for the promotion of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency in Europe.  And I tell you, in the European Parliament, we have an excellent corporation of members across group lines.  It's the real pressure group now for many years and I think we had a lot of influence in the developments which were these years in Europe.  With the 1997 decision on renewable energy we set out ourself an ambitious target.  The European Commission, the Council and the European Parliament agreed upon increasing the share of renewable energy to 12 percent of Europe's total energy consumption by 2010.  This includes an actual plan that was timetable of actions to achieve this objective.  The overall target was filled was life by the directive on the promotion of renewable of electricity reduced from renewable energy source.  It was told that I was the repeteur at that time.  And it was a very hard struggle it seemed to get this result, which we got at the end.  A very hard struggle with the member states because a lot of member states, they said okay, we will do something, but we don't want that _____________ tells us what we have to do.  And we achieved a clear framework directive which doesn't tell the member states which promotion system they have to use.  But this directive has clear national targets and a lot of other conditions like priority of guarantee for the excess of electricity from renewable energies, clear conditions that it's not allowed to discriminate electricity from renewable energies, some conditions for administrative procedures.  And he saw afterwards, after 2001 that a real development in Europe started.  There were some countries like Germany, like Denmark, Spain, which started before, but after this directive we saw for example that a country like France, which was before only focusing nuclear energy.  But then they decided real love for renewable electricity.  And we saw a change in a lot of other member states.  Therefore, we have this and then two years later we decided the bio-fuel directive would give the clear target 5.75 percent until 2010 and I forgot electricity was 21 percent until 2010.  I think these directives give a clear framework.  The member states has to fulfill the conditions and we see now, concerning electricity I said, a real development started.  But we see now that mainly two systems in the member states are used to support electricity from renewable energies.  The feed inland are the quota system.  And we see very clearly at the moment that the feed-in system with fixed prices per kilowatt hour is the most successful system.  And it was a surprise for a lot people in Europe, that the European Commission said, I think now two years ago, that this system is not only the most successful system in a better market penetration with renewables, no, the Commission said it's the most cost effective system as well.  And this was a surprise, because often we heard, no, no, it's too expensive and the quota system is better.  But we see, at the moment that the most cost effective and the most successful in increasing the share of renewables is the feed-in system.  And, I told you before, we don't say which system the member states have to use, but at the moment 18 countries of the 27 we have are using feed-in system.  Not all the systems are working very good because there are sometimes the price is too low or some grid problems or some administrative problems, but I think the development is not bad.  And then we see now that we have in the renewable industry, at the moment in Europe, around 350 jobs.  I think we only hear always that 350,000, we loose them.  But here, these are new jobs and we see the market that I think you know the global market for renewable energy is growing dramatically.  In 2006 it's turnover was $38 billion; 26 percent more than the previous year.  The EU today is world leader in many renewable energy technologies, with wind energy being the main reason for this success.  Wind power capacity in Europe has increased to a total amount of currently more than 48 gigabytes.  Thereby we provide sufficient electricity for the consumption of 25 million households.  And I think it can be either of this not in all, but in many countries around the world.  Wind, sun, water, bio-mass, geothermal is more or less everywhere.  It is not a question of potential.  It is a question of political will, ladies and gentlemen.  The precondition for the success story of renewable energy in Europe is reliable framework.  Without transparency and long term stability, this would not be such an investment security in confidence of product developers.  We need stable middle and long term support schemes for renewable technologies and as well functioning administrations to realize a truly fair competition and to <inaudible> distorted market.  Because today, every society every human being on earth has to pay for the enormous costs on environmental and health, damages caused by the use of conventional energy sources.  Today we are still investing a lot more money on fossil fuels than on renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.  We are still investing in finite energy sources.  We are still investing billions in our dependency.  Ladies and gentlemen, last month the EU adapted a strategy to steer a new energy policy for Europe.  The 27 heads of State engulfed unanimously to an integrated climate and energy package including three key goals.  First, the binding reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, or 20 percent against 1990 level, even 30 percent as part of an international agreement.  Second, binding 20 percent target for renewable energy by 2020 including a binding 10 percent target for bio-fuels.  And third, a 20 percent energy efficiency target by 2020.  Now these decisions must be translated into concrete legislative measures.  The European commission is currently working on a proposal, how to meet this 20 percent renewable energy target by 2020.  Based on this proposal, the European Parliament and to the European council will jointly elaborate and decide on a framework law for renewable sources in Europe.  Most probably the commission will table the proposal in January.  It had been to be implemented in specific national renewable laws in the 27 member states.  This new legislative framework for renewable energy will shape the future of our energy policy for the next decades.  The new directive must maintain and improve the existing legislation for the electricity and the biofuel sector, and must clearly address the still neglected sector of renewable heating and cooling.  This sector is largely overlooked, those on EU and on national levels in the EU.  The commission itself stated already in May 2004 that the target, the old target of 12 percent renewable chair by 2010 will not be met because of the slow process in the heating and cooling sector.  Therefore I initiated a report in the European Parliament and we, there's a very big majority, the Parliament asked the commission, please table a directive for heating and cooling from renewable energies.  We are still waiting.  But now we know that in this new framework directive which will be tabled in January, heating and cooling is one part.  Because we need this.  We know around 25 percent of, this can be the first target, 25 percent of the energy for heating and cooling until 2020 must come from renewable energy sources and this is a real sleeping giant we have there.  And therefore it is necessary.  Then we say it is-- in this new directive, it must be clear that regular national reports have to be made by the member states and we asked for-- the Parliament asked for interim targets because often when we set only a target for 2020, a lot of governments say okay, the next government can do it.  We know this.  And therefore it is very important to have this interim target that it is a real responsibility for all the member states to go this way.  Now we are a little concerned.  Concerned because there are some rumors, perhaps a little more than rumors that the Commission intends to propose a binding trade with certificates.  This could destroy the existing successful support schemes we have.  There was a lot of protests from the Parliament, the renewable industry, therefore at the moment we have the feeling there is perhaps the possibility to change this, perhaps to a proposal for voluntary trade buy not mandatory trade.  This is very important because if it is possible, that for example the company-- let's say wind company in Britain says ______________ the support of this country is not right, we look, we go to Germany, we buy certificates there and then at the end, this amount of renewable energy electricity will count for Britain, not for Germany.  Or we can take others, example when you take Ireland with a better support scheme and Britain, very close, but it's not too important close, it's more a virtual trait.  Okay, therefore it is important that the commission will not follow this idea.  Two last points.  One last point.  Ladies and gentlemen, currently we can observe the attempt to undermine the renewable target by defining the emissions reduction target as high priority and weak priority.  But the advantages of renewable energies are great.  Many fold.  We see this in the European Parliament; we see this in some discussions in the member states that we heard.  Look, it is so difficult with renewable energies.  It is easier to work against climate change with nuclear power.  I think this is the wrong answer.  This cannot be the right answer.  And then I hear then that the International Energy Agency tells others that perhaps it's necessary to have 600 new power plants in the world.  Then I would like to ask them, what do you think where this power plant should be?  In Iran?  In Sudan?  In Algeria?  Or where?  And can you tell us then, now, when you have the development now at the moment with 435 or so power plants, we say that uranium will be there for around 70, 80 years.  But when we have a very high investment now, German scientist said it two years ago, then perhaps we have uranium to 20 years, 25 years.  And technology with many risks.  Technology which doesn't allow mistakes.  This is the technology which is inhuman.  Therefore we have this discussion at the moment in the Parliament, there are member states, but there I see that the support for renewables is much higher, and this is important.  Therefore, I hope that we can continue and can strengthen the development in Europe, and like I said at the beginning, I wish you the best.  The best for ACORE to convince a lot of actors here in the states, to convince more and more politicians to work from the legal framework which is necessary because we need the States, a very strong promoter for renewable energies and energy efficiency.  Thank you.
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