Enigin Update - European Commission call for �1 Trillion Energy Investment
ON WEDNESDAY the European Commission (EC) will present its energy strategy for the coming decade, calling for investment of around €1 trillion.
The new strategy will set out priorities for 2020 in order to deliver on the European Union's (EU) energy and climate goals, which will require the EU to spend €1 trillion over the next decade on energy efficiency, infrastructure, new technologies and electricity storage, according to a draft,revealed by euractiv.com.
The draft strategy identifies energy efficiency as its first priority, arguing that it needs to be mainstreamed into all relevant policy areas. The details will be set out in the new energy efficiency plan, which is scheduled to be presented in the spring of 2011.
The EU has set itself a 20% energy savings objective for 2020, but measuring progress will require the establishment of "a set of fair and measurable objectives," according to the document. The national energy efficiency action plans drawn up by member states will become the annual reporting tool, it explains.
Until now, national efficiency plans have failed to exert the same influence as similar plans on renewable energy, mainly because the targets are not legally binding.
The Commission seeks to tap into the energy savings potential of Europe's existing building stock. Renovation or upgrading rate should be accelerated by investment incentives and innovative financial instruments like revolving funds, it argues, promising to address the problem of split incentives between tenants and owners.
The public sector will play a crucial role as energy efficiency criteria should "become conditionality obligations in all spheres, notably for allocating public funds," according to the paper.
Industrial companies, on the other hand, should be encouraged to make use of energy audits. A dedicated support mechanism should be created for SMEs, it adds.
"Efficiency must become a profitable business in itself, leading to a robust internal market for energy saving techniques and practices and commercial opportunities internationally," the paper says.
Enigin Distributors across Europe, and the world, are helping the private and public sector to monitor, measure and manage energy use in real-time, using Enigin PLC's Eniscope, leading to the effective adoption of energy efficiency strategies.
The environmental advantages are further gilded by the financial savings through greatly reduced energy costs, making energy efficiency the sensible, sustainable path to take.
Picture by Steve Cadman
