EU Policy News

Hydrogen and electricity storage part of Commission’s new Energy 2020 strategy

The Commission today presented its new strategy for a competitive, sustainable and secure energy. The Communication “Energy 2020″ defines the energy priorities for the next ten years and sets the actions to be taken in order to tackle the challenges of saving energy, achieving a market with competitive prizes and secure supplies, boosting technological leadership, and effectively negotiate with our international partners. (see link below)

Prioritity is Europe’s leadership in energy technology and innovation.

Four major projects in key areas for Europe’s competitiveness will be launched, such as new technologies for intelligent networks and electricity storage, research on second-generation biofuels and the ‘smart cities’ partnership to promote energy savings in urban areas.

Beyond the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), the strategy should help create market conditions which stimulate higher energy savings and more low carbon investments, to exploit a wide range of centralised and distributed renewable energy as well as key technologies for energy storage and electro-mobility (notably electric vehicles and public transport).

Re-establishing Europe’s leadership on electricity storage (both large-scale and for vehicles). Ambitious projects will be developed in the fields of hydro capacity, compressed air storage, battery storage, and other innovative storage technologies such as hydrogen. These will prepare the electricity grid at all voltage levels for the massive uptake of small-scale decentralised and large-scale centralised renewable electricity.

In order to lay the foundations of our future competitiveness in the face of strong international competition, the Commission will propose a € 1 billion-initiative to support the frontier research needed to deliver science necessary for low-carbon energy breakthroughs.

For more information see: Communication Energy 2020

For Commission Press Release see: Press Release

Further Reading »

Positive Discussion on ETS and Energy Efficiency

The meeting of Energy ministers in Denmark on Friday 20 April 2012 concluded by reaching an agreement on the approach recommended by the European Commission in its energy roadmap to 2050. Europe’s energy future will involve higher efficiency, more renewables and infrastructure upgrades, they said.
The ministers backed the roadmap’s ‘no regret’ options, which the commission says would apply to all decarbonisation scenarios envisaged in the document, regardless of the choices made by member states.

..read more Updated 24 Apr, 2012

EU Parliament adopts report on EC proposal for a new Energy Tax Directive

On April 19 the EU Parliament adopted the report of Luxemburg’s MEP Astrid Lulling (EPP), and Swedish shadow Rapporteur, Olle Ludvigson (S&D)

..read more Updated 19 Apr, 2012

MEPs to vote on Energy Taxation Directive

MEPs will today vote  on the proposal for revision of the 2003 Energy Taxation Directive (ETD) following a report by Astrid Lulling (EPP, Luxembourg) in Strasbourg last night. The revision marks the introduction of CO 2 in the taxation of energy products and electricity and the end of the special status given to diesel fuel and unleaded petrol.   The proposal, presented by the European Commission in 2011, constitutes the response to the EU summit’s 2008 request to align the European Union’s energy and climate change objectives. Under the revision, taxation would be based not only on energy content but also on the CO 2 content of energy products, and would include a minimum level for CO 2. Member states will therefore have to make a clear distinction between the two components: taxation of CO 2 and taxation of the energy source. The text also provides for abolishing the reductions granted for diesel fuel for professional use as well as the preferential price for unleaded petrol. More generally, it does away with the existing distinction between commercial and private use of energy products to produce heat and electricity. While maintaining a degree of flexibility, including the possibility for member states to levy more than one tax on energy consumption, [...]

..read more Updated 19 Apr, 2012