lessons from a european study - lth.pdfVIP

The Commercial Opportunities in the Generation of Power from Renewables. Conference arranged by CWC Associates. London 9 -11. Oct. 2000 Lessons from a European Study 1 2 Ole Langniß , Peter Helby Introduction A large number of proven technical solutions exists for the use of renewable energies (RE). However, their dissemination is still too slow to meet the political goal of substituting 12 % of the primary energy demand in the European Union by the year 2010. Even renewable energy systems (RES) with economic potential are only partly exploited. There is a long literature concerning the barriers to RE use. In particular it has become clear that the availability of finance and the forms and conditions upon which it is lent have a major impact on RE deployment. An area of importance is the deficiency of appropriate ownership forms and properly adapted financing instruments in certain countries. Moreover, different regulations and institutional barriers in the European countries hinder the free flow of capital for RES within the European common market. On the other hand, solutions have been developed very successfully in individual countries. Differences in cultures and institutions have promoted growth of several approaches to RE investment. These differences can be understood as a European source of experience that constitutes a rich basis for transnational emulation. The research project FIRE analysed and compared the means of financing RES in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom to put forward best practise recommendations so that RE deployments will occur at a faster rate. Main tasks of this study were