Renewable Energy Policy in the EU
Promoting Feed-In Tariffs: The draft EU Directive on the Promotion of the Use of Renewable Energy Sources
In March 2007, EU Heads of Government made the commitment that 20% of the EU’s energy production would come from renewables in 2020. The WFC Brussels Office provides policy advice to EU decision-makers who face the challenge of transferring this commitment into binding legislation including targets for each EU Member State.
The cabinet of Commissioner Piebalgs was requested to draft the new Directive which aims at tuning the Council conclusion into legal practice. This legislation will consolidate existing Directives and National Action Plans. It will further give incentives to the deployment of new renewable energy systems (RES) throughout the EU.
On 23 January 2008, the Commission put forward differentiated targets for each EU member state, based on the per capita GDP of each country. Its proposal was then forwarded to the EC Council and Parliament for approval. Target date for the adoption of the new legislation is the first half of 2009.
