Editor's note
International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics
Friday, 29.03.2024, 06:37
Transition to renewable energy: new Baltic States agenda
The European
Commission in its proposal "Clean Energy for All Europeans" suggested
further support for industries in the states to take advantage of the growth
opportunities arising from renewable energy transition. Three main spheres are
covered by the EU's proposal: renewables, batteries, and construction. For
example proposal for the renewables is aimed at create the EU "renewable
energy industry", including SMEs and renewable energy associations.
Main objectives on
renewables
The objectives on renewables
are to strengthen the EU states' industrial basis and the European value chain
for renewable energy technologies, including issues of system integration of
renewables. Similarities and differences, strengths and weaknesses across the
EU states in sustainable competitiveness should be taken into account in order
to build a complementary strategy across sectors and across the value chain
among the EU states.
At the same time, the
states shall identify key sectors and segments of the value chain where the EU
industries could be at the same time competitive at global scale to enter new
markets.
With this in mind, the
member states shall be aimed at: idetifying global trends that may affect their
position as European/global leader in renewables; catering synergies across
renewable energy technologies and sectors with integrated European approach to
"industrial renewables"; designing industrial policy initiatives in
addressing common gaps and needs across technology sectors to improve the technologies'
competitiveness (e.g. in access to risk finance for innovation or specific
regulatory issues).
Source: Commission press
release on "Clean Energy for All Europeans" in:
Activating the Baltic
States' renewable energy
European Commissioner
for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete underlined that the member
states have to consolidate their industrial basis for renewables in order to
gather industry support for the growth opportunities of the clean energy
transition.
That means that
politicians, economists, CEOs and industry leaders, including SMEs in the
Baltic States have to organise "fruitful dialogues" focussing on
reinforcing competitiveness of the renewable energy industry's value chain.
Besides, the role of science, research, innovation and trade policy strategies
shall be at the center of politico-economic decisions.
The
Baltic States are advised to take part in the EU high-level meetings, in public
events around three sections of the "Clean Energy Initiative"; some
will be organised during the EU Industry Days on 22-23 February 2018. This will
also serve as a spring board to assert EU industrial leadership in low carbon
energy technologies to be showcased in the 9th Clean Energy
ministerial meeting and the 3rd Mission Innovation meetings in Malmö and
Copenhagen during 22-25 May 2018.
Source: Commission's website
"EU Clean Energy Industrial Competitiveness and Innovation Forum",
in: https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/launch-eu-clean-energy-industrial-competitiveness-and-innovation-forum-renewables-2018-jan-08_en?pk_campaign=ENERNewsletterJanuary2018
Facing
challenges global
market share of EU companies. enewables
The EU renewable energy industry faces two important challenges: first, in the rapidly developing global market for renewables, the share of European investments in the development of renewable energy technologies in Europe has diminished from 45% to 18% of global renewable energy investment during 2011-16.
At the same time, the international
market for renewables is developing rapidly; in line with it, the EU market for
renewable power is expected to grow by 510 GW of new renewable energy capacity
up to 2030, whilst the global market for renewables is expected to be between
5000-6000 GW. Similar developments can be found in renewables' deployment in
heating/cooling and the transport sectors.
Second, EU's global leadership in key energy
technologies is facing increasing competition from other regions with
consequental decline of EU companies in the global market. it
EU's global leadership in key energy technologies is facing increasing competition from other regions. For example, the global market share of EU manufacturing companies of solar PV modules and wind turbines continues to decline even though in other parts of the global value chain the EU states continue to lead.
At the same time, ocean energy, concentrated solar power plants and biogas installations around the world continue to rely on European technologies. It requires a strong European market to retain these technology leadership among the EU states. Whilst advanced manufacturing capacity is a necessary condition to ensure that the EU continues to innovate in energy- and manufacturing technologies, it is also becoming evident that with lowering technology costs the share of added value and associated job opportunities is shifting to the downstream sectors.
Simultaneously,
upstream R&D, inventions and patents as well as breakthrough technologies
and new business models are key elements along the value chain to gain the
share of new global markets. For example, in 2015, European companies were
holding about 30% of all renewable energy patents; its share has declined in
the past years.
The role of EU funding
The EU’s Horizon 2020 decided to invest over €10 billion in clean energy research and innovation during 2014-20, of which an estimated €3 billion are for renewables. Industries, the research community, the EU states and the Commission have also worked and continue building synergies in the framework of the European Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan.
Costs and
performance targets in renewable technology will be finalised during 2020-30.
It is important
to mention that the European Commission is currently chairing, in cooperation
with the Nordic EU states (through "Clean Energy" ministerial
meetings and "Mission Innovation") in order to double state-directed
clean energy research and development investment in the period 2015-21.
The Commission
is also in the preparatory phase for the development of the ninth research
framework programme (FP9), as the successor of the current Horizon 2020
Programme for Research and Innovation in order to include renewable energy into
FP9 framework.
Trade
in renewables
Since
2011, the global market for renewables has rapidly expanded: the EU cooperates
currently with 174 countries on renewable energy targets. EU trade flows in the
energy sector have increased: thus, in 2015, the sum of import and export was
more than two times higher than it was in 2000, with an average increase of 7%
each year. This is particularly due to the growing relationship with China and
other countries in western Asia and northern Africa. These trade links
complement the already established partnerships with the United States and
other countries, mainly Russia and Switzerland.
Based
on the available data, the value of EU exports exceeded the value of imports,
indicating a positive trade balance for most renewable energy technologies.
On
the other side, in the solar PV sector (the EU imports modules, but exports
manufacturing equipment and inverters) the EU has a negative trade balance. The
EU exports in energy sector differr over time: between 2000 and 2015, exports
to countries in North America have seen a decrease of 32%, although a reduction
from 29% to 19% in the United States.
In
contrast, in the same period, the share of European exports to western Asia and
northern Africa increased by 35%.
In addition
to issues affecting trade in goods, there are questions concerning EU
companies' efforts in establishing renewable energy contracts and projects
worldwide.
For example,
subsidized financial support to third-country competitors (either directly via
extremely favourable loans or indirectly via more opaque financial support
measures) puts EU companies in an unfavourable competitive position with clear
impact on their global market share.
In this context, the European Commission tries to update existing or develop new trading agreements that – in many cases – can includes specific stipulations for energy technologies.
Furthermore, the European Commission has established
energy policy dialogues with non-EU countries to exchange information on
policies to support renewable energy markets.