EU Scenarios for a Sustainable RES Strategy - The Sustainability of Renewable Energy in Europe - page 129

focus at the European level and prospects of RES development in the medium term
in a sustainable development perspective.
We have provided an analysis on current EU policies, with targets up to 2050,
and prior agreements that led to the current ones. The analysis starts from the recent
agreement “Roadmap for moving to a competitive low-carbon economy in 2050”
promoted by the EU, and focus on the 2030 framework for climate and energy poli-
cies presented on January 2014 by the European Commission (COM 2014 (0015))
as an intermediate step to achieve the goal of longer term to 2050. The analysis has
proceeded backwards, illustrating the main agreements that have led the EU to the
current situation, that are the 2020 climate and energy package and the implementa-
tion of the Kyoto Protocol at EU level (Chap. 1).
We have provided the state of RES development in EU countries in terms of in-
stalled capacity and energy produced by each technology. The analysis carried out
confirms that the production of energy from RES is a consolidated reality in the EU,
able to meet 14 % of EU energy demand in 2013. Then we have compared the main
world scenarios up to 2040 with a focus on the new EU policy scenarios (Chap. 2).
We have analyzed support mechanisms designed to encourage learning by doing
and innovation in order to improve the competitiveness of RES compared to fossil
fuels technologies. Drawing from experience in the EU energy system, we have of-
fered a critical overview of existing policy supports for RES, with a focus to price-
oriented mechanisms. We have evaluated the effect of RES support mechanisms in
relation to the market structure (Chap. 3).
The objectives of mandatory RES share are implemented at the national level
and they vary from one country to another; they are between 10 and 49 % of fi-
nal consumption by 2020. We have offered an updated and comprehensive review
in which each EU country stands in relation to 2020 RES' objectives (Directive
2009 /28/EC). The EU has a huge potential to develop a new generation of energy
technologies like offshore wind, solar energy, or technologies for the exploitation
of biomass; we have illustrated possible RES technological breakthroughs which
are currently discussed among scientists. Given the increased use of RES, we have
provided a brief analysis on the smart grid technologies that are becoming a priority
of the EU energy policy (Chap. 4).
Finally, we have proposed a new policy strategy which is based on a new RES
development scenario. Our simulation model shows how to reach the RES quantity
goal at minimum costs for the EU as a whole. Results show that with our mecha-
nism costs incurred by the EU as a whole are lower than those implicated by the
2020 climate and energy package. Indeed, based on a logic of cost minimization
for the EU, RES should be produced in countries where, for environmental voca-
tions and technology, production costs are lower. This clearly involves an unequal
concentration in the territories that have to be compensated through a fair mecha-
nism. The decoupling of RES and cost share requires cooperation and compensation
among EU countries. Our proposal might be a useful tool for the EU policy makers
at the negotiation table among EU member countries for welfare improvement at
EU level (Chap. 5).