EUROPE has no choice; it must lessen dependence on fossil fuels and other non-renewables-based power generation, according to the president of the European Wind Energy Association.
“It will only become more brutal with time and Europe will lose the battle,” Arthouros Zervos warned delegates at the EWEA 2009 conference in Marseilles last month.
“European companies have two-thirds of the 35billion-euro global market for wind-power technology. Wind energy is Europe’s contribution to peace, progress and prosperity and we should urgently develop, promote and export it to the best of our ability.”
According to the European Commission, 3.5% of the world’s proven coal reserves are in the EU. Moreover, the community sits on less than 2% of the world’s gas, less than 2% of its uranium and less than 1% of the world’s oil.
Zervos said EWEA had increased its 2020 target for installed wind energy capacity in the EU from 180 gigawatts to 230GW, including 40GW offshore. Moreover, this had been done despite the banking debacle which had hit the EU and US especially hard.
However, he warned that member states would have to pull together to hit the EU’s mandatory 2020 renewables targets.
Said Zervos: “The agreement on the EU Renewable Energy Directive in December 2008 and its mandatory 2020 renewables targets for the Member States have increased our optimism for the sector’s outlook. We have therefore increased our targets. However, these targets will only be met if all the Member States implement the directive swiftly and effectively.”
Mechtild Rothe, vice-president of the European Parliament, told EWEC delegates that wind energy could make a real difference to employment and economies within the group of 27 member states.
“Wind energy is an excellent example of how to intelligently invest in a future-orientated, sustainable economy getting thousands of people into jobs,” she said.
“Especially in these times of uncertainty, it is very important that the European wind energy industry has created more than 60,000 new jobs over the past five years.
“These are not mere statistics – this is the competitive strength of Europe.
“Wind energy has definitely become a driving force of our economies.
“We have learned from the current crisis that we should not wait until the problems are there before we act – we need to invest in wind energy now.”
Nobuo Tanaka, top man at the Paris-based International Energy Agency – which, until recently, was almost exclusively petroleum-focused – called for “effective” national policies and a strong international framework.
In particular, he said: “We need to reinforce, expand and link up our transmission networks. We must also increase research and development efforts in wind-energy technology.”
Tanaka went on to stress the importance of focusing economic recovery plans on green investments for a short-term stimulus and long-term benefits.
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