Renewable energy policies in the EU

"Renewable energy policies in the European Union," Energy Policy (Guest editorial), 34 (2006) 251-255. 5pp. Saved to hard disk.

• Policy emphasis in 70s and 80s was on R&D.
• In 90s, emphasis shifted to implementation. EU has done this most, but other examples are 1999 RPS in TX and PV investment subsidy in Japan.
• Other articles in this issue discuss: success of wind and PV in Germany; limited success in Sweden due to policy programs that are inflexible, non-continuous, and too focused;
• R&D vs. market introduction: former leads to more cost-effective tech, latter facilitates learning process that helps technological and institutional learning
• Subsidies vs quota systems: find that feed-in systems' big advantage is risk reduction in terms of price and guaranteed sold volume
• Direct impact of green electricity schemes limited so far (voluntary market for renewables)
• Biomass deserves more attention in policy studies - important RE source in terms of current contribution and expected growth in absolute terms
• Success in meeting policy goals limited to specific countries and specific RE sources