Solar photovoltaic

The annual EurObserv’ER report ‘The State of Renewable Energies in Europe’ has been released, which gives background information on renewable energy realisations and renewable energy shares in Europe. It also presents estimates for renewable energy related employment and turnover in EU Member States.

The third edition of the Capacities Map, i.e. the 2011 Update, addresses the research and development (R&D) investments in three selected low-carbon energy technologies within SET-Plan, i.e. wind, PV and CSP. This update covers the period 2008-09, the period with the latest available detailed data.

Materials are at the core of industrial innovation and enable it. The materials presented in this new Roadmap complement and expand the technology roadmaps developed in the context of the SET-Plan as the basis for its implementation. It puts forward key materials research and innovation activities to advance energy technologies for the next 10 years.

Earlier this month Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn announced Horizon 2020, an EUR 80 billion programme to help achieve Europe's 2020 targets, which includes a package of measures to boost research, innovation and competitiveness in Europe.

The Warsaw conference on the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan) began on 28th November - the same day as the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, at which representatives of the world’s largest economies are discussing the future of limiting the world emission of carbon dioxide.

The 'Renewable Energy Snapshots' are based on various data providers, including grey data sources, and try to give an overview about the latest developments and trends in different renewable energy technologies.

The European Photovoltaic Industry Association's (EPIA) comprehensive new analysis of 5 electricity markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) shows that PV competitiveness with grid electricity can be achieved in some countries as early as 2013, thereafter spreading across the continent in the different market segments by 2020.

ATEsT (Analysing Transition Planning and Systemic Energy Planning Tools for the implementation of the Energy Technology Information System) brings together EU competence on a transition towards a low-carbon energy system through energy innovation, energy modelling activities and technology assessment.

A recently published Eurobarometer report revealed that carbon capture and storage (CCS) is still largely unknown to the EU citizen, when compared with other low-carbon energy technologies.

The Clean Energy Solutions Center is an American (Washington D.C.)-based initiative of the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM). The Center was launched in 2010 to assist partners and partner countries with designing and implementing clean energy policies and deployment programmes.

On 8th March 2011, the EC adopted its Communication, "Energy Efficiency Plan 2011", which puts energy efficiency at the heart of the Europe 2020 Strategy for what it calls “smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and the transition to a resource efficient economy.”

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is holding a conference in Pécs (Hungary) on 29th April 2011 on how EU energy policy can ensure security of supply and how we can strengthen the external dimension of EU energy policy.

EurObserv’ER has released the annual publication ‘The State of Renewable Energies in Europe’, a synthesis of the Technology Barometers published during 2010 (with data up to and including 2009).

According to Bloomberg news agency, investment in low-carbon energy surged to a record $243 billion (€177 billion) last year, boosted by a 30 per cent spending increase in China to $51.1 billion (€37.3 billion) and “a burst in small-scale solar-power installations”.

The Belgian presidency and the European Commission organised the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan Conference 2010. More than 500 stakeholders from industry and research institutes and European and national policymakers from across Europe gathered in Brussels for the fourth edition of the SET-Plan conference. The main objectives were the launch of the next two European Industrial Initiatives: Bioenergy and Sustainable Nuclear Energy, and the kick-off of the international cooperation dimension within the SET-Plan.

The European Commission has recently published new EU energy scenarios in its report, ‘EU energy trends to 2030’.

A new report by the Joint Research Centre examines how increasing RD&D efforts for certain low-carbon power technologies will impact on the development of the European energy sector for 2020 and beyond.

The 5th General Assembly of the EU PV Technology Platform was held on 18 June in Toledo, Spain.

The ‘Renewable Energy Snapshots’ report, published in July 2010 by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), shows that renewable energy sources accounted for 62%, or 17GW, of the new electricity generation capacity installed in the EU27 in 2009. This is up from 57% in 2008.

The European Union has issued a publication entitled "Europe’s Energy Position – Markets & Supply".

In response to the increasing need for energy innovation in Europe and beyond, the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) is launching its new Joint Research Programmes to help strengthen, expand and optimise EU energy research. The first Joint Programmes of research on Wind, Photovoltaic, Smart Grids and Geothermal were officially launched during the SET-Plan conference, on 3-4 June 2010 in Madrid.

The European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) has just released its publication “Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics until 2014”. The publication provides detailed figures for the 2009 market and an outlook on the global and main markets until 2014.

Despite the effects of the global economic crisis, investment in low-carbon technologies has remained comparatively stable in recent years. The crisis has, however, reinforced the importance of the financial impetus needed to bring low-carbon energy technologies on stream. Financing the development and installation of low-carbon energy is currently a political priority, but increased investment for these energy technologies is needed at both EU and international levels.

European Solar Days is a Europe-wide campaign to promote the use of solar energy for production of electricity, heating and cooling. The 2010 campaign will be from 1-16 May.