The European Renewable Energy Industry - Market Assessment

This Key Note Market Assessment report on the EU renewable energy industry reviews the current situation in the market in terms of key statistics and main renewable energy source (RES) technology. This is an emerging sector, which is set to play an important role in the future EU energy mix. The energy industry in the EU is changing as a result of two main factors. First, the EU's indigenous energy supplies are decreasing, so greater reliance will be placed on imported oil and gas. Much of this will be sourced from countries that are not natural trading partners and might well be subject to political disturbances or unrest. This raises the possibility of disruption to energy supplies to the EU. The second major factor is the EU's commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: greater use of renewable sources that do not emit greenhouse gases helps in reducing such emissions. In addition, there is a third important factor that could well prove to be a long-term trend - the steep rise in oil prices.

This report provides an analysis of RES activities for the main technologies of biomass, hydropower, geothermal energy, wind power and solar energy. A strategic review of statistics is given for the EU-25 countries for each RES technology. In addition, major EU Directives are also covered. A country-by-country account is given for market structure, along with basic statistics for electricity, heat and biofuels. Each country chapter includes a summary of selected company activities. This report also contains statistics relating to the existing installed capacity or output for the main RES technologies, as well as outlining EU targets and providing an account of progress being made. In addition, initiatives that are being proposed by the EU to encourage further development of the RES sector are covered.

The financing of renewable energy projects requires substantial investment and the degree to which companies are prepared to make these financial investments depends on the availability of incentives and schemes that guarantee a premium for green energy. Changes in government policy that remove or downgrade these incentives can result in a sharp downturn in interest in renewable energy. Planning consent can also be a major issue and for large projects, such as wind farms and biomass installations, local protest, groups can cause schemes to be delayed or abandoned.

In the electricity sector, national grid connections for large RES projects can be difficult and expensive to obtain. For most EU countries, nuclear power is not a favoured method of generating electricity owing to concerns about the possible health and environmental dangers (as well as long-term nuclear waste disposal). However, if energy supplies to the EU appear to be under threat, the nuclear power option is still open. A major re-emergence of nuclear power could represent a challenge to renewable energy, particularly if energy costs rise, which makes nuclear power more attractive.

In the future, little further development is expected for large-scale hydro schemes. Although the wind energy sector is performing well, greater efforts are needed in biomass and biofuels.