A leading European renewables body has been dissolved after more than a decade representing the industry – because its energy efficient headquarters proved too expensive.
The European Renewable Energy Council, set up in 2000 to represent green energy industry, trade and research group across the continent, confirmed it had gone into liquidation.
The cost of leasing the offices at the group’s base in Brussels proved too much for the council – despite the building having been refitted as a showcase for green energy projects.
“It is particularly regrettable and somewhat ironic that, although the Renewable Energy House is running fine and is a testament to the reliability of our technologies, the lease agreement of the building has turned out to be the cause of the demise of the organisation the REH was intended to serve,” said EREC president Rainer Hinrichs-Rahlwes.
The Renewable Energy House was launched in 2006 as part of a project set up by Belgium’s Prince Laurent to turn the 140-year-old building into a showcase for Europe’s energy efficiency technologies.
EREC had campaigned for Europe-wide renewable energy targets, but suffered a blow earlier this year when the European Wind Energy Association split from the council.
It had organised major conferences across the continent on renewable energy policy.
“The ultimately inevitable dissolution of EREC couldn’t come at a more inappropriate time,” said Hinrichs-Rahlwes
“Looking back, it is obvious that EREC can rightly claim considerable political achievements over the last decade. Without EREC there would probably not be a 20% renewable energy target for 2020 and the Renewables Directive would be weaker.
“EREC has now laid the ground for a positive and constructive debate on a 2030 policy framework including a meaningful and binding target for renewables. The two recent publications, “45% by 2030” and “Hat-trick 2030″ are playing an important role in shaping the ongoing policy debates.”
