Promoting renewable energies - RETS Project

Best Practices Compendium 

Now available: 

Wiki and community site 

http://www.rets-community.eu/ 

Project website 

http://www.rets-project.eu/ 

Overall project lead Alison Rivers-Garnier alison.rivers@adec.fr 

Compendium lead Jon Fairburn jon.fairburn@staffs.ac.uk

Table of contents 

CHAPTER 1 THE REGULATORY POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR PROMOTING RENEWABLE ENERGIES IN 

EUROPE 3 

CHAPTER 2 LOCAL POLITICAL DECISION-MAKING FOR RETS 9 

CHAPTER 3 RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY SECTORS 25 

CHAPTER 4 TYPES OF INTERVENTION AT THE LOCAL LEVEL 39 

CHAPTER 5 BEST PRACTICES 43 

CHAPTER 6 KEY TRANSFERS AND COOPERATION WHICH HAVE COME OUT OF THE PROJECT 61 

CHAPTER 7 RECOMMENDATIONS 66 

CHAPTER 8 CONCLUSIONS 70 

APPENDICES 74 

RETS Compendium – © 2012 RETS Consortium 

1

2 

RETS Compendium – © 2012 RETS Consortium

Chapter 1 

The regulatory policy framework for 

promoting renewable energies in Europe 


3

Part one: European policy on promoting renewable energies 

The European Union has been advocating the promotion 

of renewable energies since the late 1990s. The strategic 

principles formulated to this end sit within the global 

framework of European energy policy. 

European energy policy 

Since the Lisbon Treaty was signed in 2007, the 

European Union has shared responsibility for European 

energy policy. This means that Member States only 

decide on matters where the EU has not exercised its 

competence. Moreover, the Lisbon Treaty establishes a 

specific legal basis for energy policy: Article 194 TFEU. 

Previously, the European Union influenced the energy 

sector indirectly by means of other policies, in particular 

policies relating to the single market, transport, the 

environment and foreign affairs. 

The objectives of EU energy policy, as defined in the 

Lisbon Treaty, build on the measures the EU has been 

applying in the field of energy. This policy is designed to: 

ensure the functioning of the energy market; 

ensure security of energy supply in the Union; 

promote energy efficiency and energy saving 

and the development of new and renewable 

forms of energy; 

promote the interconnection of energy 

networks. 

In its strategy “Energy 2020”, the Commission reasserts 

the priorities for European energy policy in the period up 

to 2020. This Communication 

followed publication of the 

“Europe 2020” strategy, 

which defines the EU’s 

objectives for 2020 and aims 

to generate “smart, 

sustainable and inclusive” 

growth. The strategy “Energy 

2020” sets five priorities: 

achieving an energy-efficient Europe; 

building a pan-European integrated energy 

market; 

empowering consumers and maximising safety 

and security; 

extending Europe’s leadership in energy 

technology and innovation; 

strengthening the external dimension of the EU 

energy market. 

In sum, European energy policy focuses on three 

objectives: secure, competitive and sustainable 

energy. 

Secure energy 

The European Union is 53% dependent on energy 

imports. It imports 39% of the coal it consumes, 62% of 

the gas and 84% of the oil 1 . The decreasing availability of 

fossil resources, rising prices for these fuels and political 

instability in some producer countries have prompted the 

Union to consider the security of its supply. 

In response to this challenge, the EU has in particular, in 

the context of its foreign policy, been seeking energy 

partnerships with third-party states and financing energy 

infrastructure. 

The promotion of renewable energies sits fully within the 

objective of energy independence to the extent that 

renewable energies are produced locally, resulting in less 

need to import energy. 

Energy infrastructure within the EU also poses a major 

challenge to energy security. Much of it is quite old 

(especially in some of the new Member States), provides 

few cross-border interconnections, and was designed to 

serve a centralised approach to production (cf. Green 

Paper 2008). In order to ensure network security and the 

smooth transmission of energy within the EU, the Union 

has pledged to strengthen the infrastructure, in particular 

through its Trans-European Networks (Articles 170 ff. 

TFEU) and by defining funding priorities in the form of 

Projects of Common Interest (PCI). 

Competitive energy 

In 1996 the EU committed to opening the electricity 

and gas sectors to competition, on the basis of a “first 

energy package”. This was followed in 2003 and 2009 by 

a second and then third “energy package”. Liberalisation 

of the energy market is designed to boost the free flow of 

1 Data for 2010. Source: European Commission, EU energy and 

transport in figures, Statistical pocketbook 2012, ISSN 1977-4559 

4 


energy, competition, and a competitive industry. These 

objectives are served in particular by: 

the legal separation, or unbundling, of different 

activities in the sector (production, 

transmission, distribution & supply), 

opening business to competition, 

setting up national regulators and a European 

cooperation agency. 

Sustainable energy 

At present the EU derives most of its energy from fossil 

sources. These are finite and they generate high levels of 

greenhouse gas emissions. Besides, energy 

consumption for transport produces atmospheric 

pollution, which the EU is seeking to reduce through its 

transport policy. 

This plan of action by the EU institutions aims to 

establish a common energy policy and to combat climate 

change. In particular, it incorporates the “3 x 20” or 

“20/20/20” targets proposed by the Commission in 2007: 

a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions 

by 2020 compared with 1990 levels, 

a 20% energy efficiency gain in relation to 

consumption forecasts for 2020, 

renewable energies to account for 20% of total 

energy consumption by 2020. 

To help boost renewable energies, some of which 

fluctuate in their output, the European Union supports the 

creation of intelligent energy networks (smart grids). 

These will enable systems operators to monitor 

consumption more accurately and to adjust production 

plant accordingly. 

The climate & energy package adopted in early 2009 

reflects concerns about climate change and European 

ambitions to set an example in achieving the greenhouse 

gas emission reduction targets set out in the Kyoto 

Protocol. Integrating renewable energies also helps to 

pre-empt the depletion of fossil energy sources. 

Part two: Promoting renewable energies 

Strategic guidelines 

Support for renewable energies began in 1997 with the 

introduction of a target for increasing the share of 

renewable energies to 12% of primary energy 

consumption in the EU by 2010. In 1997, renewable 

energy sources accounted for 6% of the EU’s gross 

internal energy consumption. In 2009, it was 9.4%. 

In 2001, the Directive on the promotion of the use of 

electricity produced from renewable energy sources 

created a Community framework for developing 

renewable sources in the field of power generation. In 

particular, it set a target of generating 21% of 

electricity from renewable sources by 2010. This 

target was almost achieved in 2010, when electricity from 

renewable sources accounted for 19.8% of gross power 

consumption in the Union. 

Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of 

energy from renewable sources replaced the existing 

measures that had been adopted in 2001 and 2003. In 

April 2009, as part of the climate and energy package, it 

enshrined the objectives proposed in 2007 in the 

Renewable Energy Roadmap: 

20% of final energy consumption to come from 

renewable sources 2 , of which 21% electricity 

produced from renewable energy sources. In 

2010, renewable energy sources accounted for 

12,4% of gross final energy consumption 

(11,5% in 2009); 

at least 10% of the energy consumed by 

transport to derive from renewable sources. 

In particular, it set out national targets for the share of 

energy to be produced from renewables. In 2010 the 

Member States drew up national renewable energy 

action plans (NREAP), which laid down the share of 

energy from renewable sources to be consumed in the 

transport sector and in the generation of power and heat 

by 2020. 

2 In 2009, renewable energies accounted for 11.6% of EU final energy 

consumption. 


5

In December 2011, the 

European Commission 

launched its Energy 

Roadmap 2050 3 in 

order “to reduce 

greenhouse gas 

emissions to 80%-95% 

below 1990 levels by 2050” 4 . It describes seven different 

scenarios in order to help Member States decide which 

energy strategy is best suited to their situation. It is worth 

noting that the share of renewable energies rises 

substantially in all decarbonisation scenarios (5 out of 7), 

achieving at least 55% in gross final energy consumption 

in 2050. The RES share even reaches 97% in a High 

Renewables Scenario. 

Supporting measures 

As part of its policy for promoting renewable energies, 

the European Union formulated an array of measures to 

support the creation of production systems for renewable 

energies. 

Tax incentives 

Tax incentives are a matter for the domestic policy of 

Member States, and have little relevance at European 

level. In this context, Directive 2003/96/EC restructuring 

the Community framework for the taxation of energy 

products and electricity allows Member States to 

provide for exemptions, in full or in part, from any tax 

imposed on biofuels, energy from renewable sources, 

and energy products used in rail or waterway transport. 

Research and innovation 

The SET (Strategic Energy Technology) Plan is designed 

to promote (i) low-carbon technologies, (ii) sustainable 

fossil-fuel power generation and (iii) the demonstration of 

carbon capture and storage. 

The SET-Plan was adopted by the Council of the 

European Union in February 2008 and it marks the first 

step towards establishing a European policy on energy 

technologies. Its aims are: 

to accelerate knowledge development, 

technology transfer and up-take; 

to create a framework that will enable the EU to 

maintain its industrial leadership in the lowcarbon 

energy technologies; 

to foster science for transforming energy 

technologies in order to achieve our energy 

and climate change goals for 2020, and 

to contribute to the worldwide transition 

towards a low-carbon economy. 

Future financial instruments – Horizon 2020 

Horizon 2020 is the financial instrument implementing the 

Innovation Union, a Europe 2020 flagship initiative aimed 

at securing Europe's global competitiveness. Running 

from 2014 to 2020 with an €80 billion budget, the EU’s 

new programme for research and innovation is part of the 

drive to create new growth and jobs in Europe. 

Link: http://ec.europa.eu/research/horizon2020 

Horizon 2020 will focus funds on three key objectives. It 

will support the EU’s position as a world leader in science 

with a dedicated budget of €24.6 billion. It will help 

secure industrial leadership in innovation with a budget of 

€17.9 billion. This includes a major investment of €13.7 

billion in key technologies, as well as greater access to 

capital and support for SMEs. Finally, €31.7 billion will go 

towards addressing major concerns shared by all 

Europeans, across six key themes: Health, demographic 

change and well-being; Food security, sustainable 

agriculture, marine and maritime research and the bioeconomy; 

Secure, clean and efficient energy; Smart, 

green and integrated transport; Climate action, resource 

efficiency and raw materials; and Inclusive, innovative 

and secure societies. 

Link: http://setis.ec.europa.eu/ 

3 

http://ec.europa.eu/energy/energy2020/roadmap/doc/com_2011_8852 

_en.pdf 

4http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/ 

11/914&format=HTML&aged=0&language=en&guiLanguage=en 

6 


Although its creation was announced in November 2011, 

the programme will not start until 2014. Funding related 

to renewable energy, climate change actions and the role 

of ICT will be found in the “societal challenges” pillar 5 . 

State aid 

State aid (public subsidies to companies) is essentially 

forbidden under the Treaty establishing the European 

Community, so as to rule out distortions to competition. 

However, certain exceptions allow the Member States to 

grant state aid, with a strict proviso that it must serve the 

common interest. Aid granted for protecting the 

environment is specifically permitted in the following 

cases: 

aid for going beyond Community standards 

of environmental protection, 

aid to investment destined for energy saving, 

highly efficient cogeneration, renewable 

energies and environmental studies. 

Sources: 

Commission Regulation (EC) no. 800/2008 of 6 

August 2008 declaring certain categories of aid 

compatible with the common market in 

application of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty 

Guidelines of 1 April 2008 on state aid for 

environmental protection 

Key links 

European Commission portal for Energy 

http://www.ec.europa.eu/energy/index_en.htm 

European Commission portal for Sustainable Energy 

http://www.ec.europa.eu/energy/sustainable/index_en.htm 

European Commission portal for News in the Energy field 

http://www.ec.europa.eu/news/energy/ 

Europe’s Energy portal 

http://www.energy.eu 

Summary of energy legislation 

http://www.europa.eu/legislation_summaries/energy/index_en.htm 

EUR-LEX 

http://www.eur-lex.europa.eu/en/index.htm 

Baromètre Observ’ER 

http://www.energies-renouvelables.org/barometre.asp 

Horizon 2020 

http://ec.europa.eu/research/horizon2020 

Renewable, Energy Snapshots, JRC Scientific and Technical 

Reports, September 2011 

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/11/ 

914&format=HTML&aged=0&language=en&guiLanguage=en 

EU Energy in figures Statistical Pocketbook 2012 

http://ec.europa.eu/energy/publications/doc/2012_energy_figures.pdf 

5 http://ec.europa.eu/research/horizon2020/pdf/press/fact_sheet_fp7_ 

themes_in_h2020.pdf 


7

8 


Chapter 2 

Local political decision-making for RETS 


9

Political structure / devolution of power 

There are over 100,000 towns and local authorities in the 

27 Member States of the EU. They form the lowest 

administrative and decision-making level in the European 

multi-level system. Nearly two-thirds of all communally 

relevant regulations originate in the EU; the local 

councils are therefore the indispensable partners of 

the EU Commission for the implementation of EU 

decisions. 

European Union 

Forty-two states have now ratified the European Charter 

of Local Self-Government (1985) of the Council of 

Europe. In its preamble, the signatory states affirm the 

following: 

that local authorities are one of the main 

foundations of any democratic regime; 

that the existence of local authorities can 

provide an administration that is both 

effective and close to the citizen; 

that the safeguarding and reinforcement of 

local self-government in the different European 

countries is an important contribution to the 

construction of a Europe based on the 

principles of democracy and the 

decentralisation of power. 

In relation to the implementation of renewable energy, 

local government therefore has the following importance 

for the EU: 

It is the central agent in implementing EU 

decisions and directives and is therefore 

well-placed to promote renewable energy. 

It can contribute to more efficient and more 

effective provision of services by the public 

sector. 

In the context of globalisation, the inclusion of 

citizens in political decision-making can be 

better facilitated and secured at a local 

level. This is especially important for 

renewable energy projects, as it has been 

demonstrated that the participation of the 

citizens is essential for the success of a project. 

Structural principles of local politics in the 27 EU 

countries 

The importance of the local level in the 27 European 

countries, in conjunction with the possibilities of 

introducing renewable energy, depends heavily on the 

integration of local government into the relevant national 

political structures. This is determined by the degree of 

legal autonomy to which local government is entitled, 

its competitive relationship to other sub-national 

levels and its average size. The institutional protection 

of the local level in the EU Member States is secured by 

the EU-wide ratification of local self-government in the 

above-mentioned European Charter. 

Today, at least two sub-national administrative levels 

are to be found in almost all Member States of the 

EU: the regions and the local government level. 

Nevertheless, there are great differences between the 

Member States in terms of the importance of the regions 

and in terms of that which is referred to as regional or 

local. Therefore, opportunities for effective 

implementation of energy projects, varies. 

EU member States can be divided into four groups – 

depending on the strengths of their regions: 

Very powerful regional governments are to be 

found in “federal states”, e.g. Germany, Austria, 

Belgium (authority to pass own laws, integration 

into the decision-making processes at national 

level). 

The regional structures are weaker, on the 

other hand, in the “regionalised states”, e.g. 

France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the United 

Kingdom and Poland (the regions have here only 

a limited authority to pass laws and a very low 

participation in national decision-making). 

10 


Only qualified regional government autonomy 

is to be found in “decentralised states”, e.g. 

Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden 

(no authority to pass laws, hardly any autonomy). 

It is especially in the small countries, such as 

Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg or Malta, that the 

regional level is virtually meaningless. 

Decisions are taken only at the national and local 

levels. 

The local authority areas within the entire EU have an 

average population of 20,000. There are however, some 

countries, with very small local administrative units, e.g. 

in France, Greece or Slovakia and others where 

extremely large local area units are to be found such as 

in Great Britain and Ireland. Relatively large local 

authorities (those with a 15,000 to 30,000 population 

average) are also to be found in Denmark, Sweden and 

Finland as well as in the Netherlands and Poland. 

The size of the local authorities plays an important role in 

two respects. The smaller a local authority is, the 

more likely it is that citizens take part in local 

decision-making. However, with increase in size of 

the local authority, its capability also increases and 

with that the prospects of implementing energy 

projects. There are also great variations in size within 

the individual countries. 

Local authority energy policy and 

strategies 

As described above, local authorities are the principal 

agencies with responsibility for practical implementation 

of EU decisions and directives. EU energy policy 

regulations are therefore to be found again in the 

energy policy of local government. Local energy policy 

is understood as the energy policy of town, local 

authorities, district councils and other forms of local 

government. In contrast to the energy policy at the 

national level, the opportunities for local decision makers 

are restricted to the following areas: 

Local authority support programmes for the 

use of certain energy forms, e.g. natural gas or 

district heating from their own power utilities, or in 

the area of energy efficiency e.g. thermal 

insulation. These are economically favourable on 

a regional basis as these attract investment 

which is largely realised in the region. 

Advisory services for citizens are very effective 

with the public and therefore politically popular. 

The community can set up its own local energy 

economy using public power utilities or other 

organisational forms (e.g. public-private 

partnerships). In most cases, the local public 

utilities are admittedly only resellers of power and 

natural gas, have however often their own power 

production facilities, e.g. thermal power stations 

and district heating networks. Public utilities also 

operate photovoltaic systems, small power-heat 

cogeneration plants, local heating networks and 

biomass thermal power plants. 

Energy policy at the local level can also support 

the installation of private systems, e.g. by 

making municipal roof areas available for 

photovoltaic use at no or low cost. On the other 

hand, local policy can inhibit the installation of 

private systems. 

In municipal energy management, local 

government can optimise its own energy and 

resource consumption in economic and 

ecological terms. Conventional energy sources 

can be replaced by renewable or localised 

schemes and energy efficiency can be 

maximised. For example, it can be profitable for 

districts with large areas of forest to use the wood 

from their own forestry as an energy source. 

Advantages for local authorities 

With the use of renewable energy, local authorities not 

only have the opportunity to actively support necessary 

environmental and climate change protection, they can 

also increase their own room for manoeuvre in this way. 

Creation of regional added value 

The decentralised expansion of renewable energy 

generates, for example, in German towns and districts, 

a local added value of almost 6.8 billion Euros 

(Institute for Ecological Economy Research, IÖW 6 ). 

The decentralised expansion of renewable energy in 

6 

Institute for Futures Studies and Technology Assessment (IZT) 

gGmbH, Erneuerbare Energien in Kommunen optimal nutzen – 

Denkanstöße für die Praxis, October 2007 

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kommunale_Energiepolitik; accessed on 29 

November 2011 


11

Germany is more profitable for local areas when more 

plants, operating companies, manufacturers and 

suppliers are situated locally. Communities of all 

sizes can achieve considerable local added value 

by means of decentralised, renewable energy, e.g. 

from tax and leasing income, company profits and jobs 

as well as from savings in fossil fuels. 

Positive image utilisation 

Since renewable energy primarily has a positive 

image, there is an opportunity for using it to attract 

media interest. Media dissemination of RES 

projects can help in the publicity work of local 

government to improve image and also other areas, 

e.g. to put across the subject of energy efficiency and 

awaken interest in other energy topics. 

Curbing the rise in energy prices 

Energy prices will continue to rise in the future. Firstly, 

the investment costs for renewable energy are 

certainly higher than those for fossil fuel energy 

sources, the running costs are however much lower. 

By using renewable energy, the energy costs for 

individual citizens and local authorities can be 

estimated. In addition, considerable sums for energy 

imports are saved. 

District Heating Log Boiler, Ty Mawr (by ECW) 

Strategic local authority energy policy 

For an efficient and effective use of renewable 

energy, it is necessary to embed it into a comprehensive 

community energy policy. There are a series of points 

that have to be observed in order to implement an 

energy policy at the local authority level and exploit 

the potential of renewable energy: 

Setting targets and energy guidelines 

A high-level model with objectives should be available, 

from which a community energy concept can be 

developed with the help of potential analyses. 

12 


Implementation 

The objectives should be underpinned by concrete 

and binding guidelines with specific decisioncriteria. 

For example, the selection of suitable 

performance audit methods which calculate for the 

long term, as opposed to only considering the initial 

purchase costs. Overall life-cycle costs should be 

more effectively reviewed and compared - see 

Chapter 'Toolboxes for decision-makers'. 

Measures and instruments: 

Concrete measures should be taken: 

- Construction measures (modernisation of 

buildings); 

- Public relations activities; 

- Financial instruments (setting up of a 

support fund); 

Monitoring and evaluation 

The success of the measures should be continuously 

monitored and evaluated. 

Networking the players – bundling of forces 

To make optimum use of the local and regional 

resources in the energy area, the most important 

energy players should be networked and meet 

regularly. An expert committee with representatives 

from municipal building management, environment 

agency, town planning, energy suppliers, but also from 

the network players such as energy agency and 

economic development agencies and citizen 

initiatives, can efficiently promote the implementation 

of innovative ideas and targets. 

Integration of energy suppliers and housing 

corporations 

Great success is often achieved there where local 

politics and administration in close cooperation 

with power supply companies and housing 

corporations jointly promote municipal energy projects. 

Local authority planning 

In local authority planning, there are opportunities for 

laying down specifications for private building and 

setting, for example, clear minimum standards. In 

addition, incentives can be created for building owners 

and independent advice offered. 

Figure 1: Elements of a strategic local authority energy policy 7 

7 

acc. to Institute for Futures Studies and Technology Assessment (IZT) gGmbH, Erneuerbare Energien in Kommunen optimal nutzen – Denkanstöße für die 

Praxis, October 2007, p. 23 


13

Local inter-district cooperation 

Many towns, local authorities and district councils, 

however, do not have sufficient staff and experience 

problems in systematically setting up a strategic local 

authority energy policy management. Cooperation with 

neighbouring authorities is therefore both necessary 

and sensible – especially for smaller local 

authorities. Several smaller neighbouring authorities 

can, for example, employ an energy officer and so 

minimise their own personnel costs. An alternative 

example would also be, in agreement with the district 

authority, to search for a cooperative solution. The 

potential and opportunities for an effective energy policy 

are greater with local inter-authority cooperation. 

Environmental 

The benefits of RES regarding the security of supply 

and mitigating climate change can go hand in hand 

with economic benefits. Two reasons for increasing the 

share of RES are the reduction of CO2-emissions and 

other environmental impacts as well as the increased 

security of supply due to reduced dependency on 

imported fossil fuels. It is often stressed that these two 

key energy policy objectives – security of supply and 

environmental sustainability – should be targeted 

without sacrificing the third one - economic sustainability. 

It is therefore of immense value that increasing the share 

of RES not only does not harm the economy, but actually 

benefits it by creating jobs and increasing GDP. Apart 

from the CO2-price in the EU Emission Trading System, 

the economic value of RES benefits in terms of their 

contribution to the environment and security of supply are 

not included in the analysis. If external costs and 

benefits were included, the economic benefits of RES 

would probably be even higher 8 . 

Economic & Employment Issues 

Policies which actively support renewable energy 

sources (RES) enhance the economy and expand the 

number and range of jobs throughout the EU. It is 

estimated that if the EU target of 20% RES in final energy 

consumption can be achieved by 2020, it will provide a 

net effect of about 410,000 additional jobs as well as 

a 0.24% increase in gross domestic product (GDP) 9 . 

One recent study indicates that the RES sector is already 

a very important one in terms of employment and value 

added impact. New industries with a strong market lead 

potential have been created, which contribute about 0.6% 

of total GDP and employment in Europe 10 . This 

development is likely to be accelerated if current 

policies are improved in order to reach the agreed 

target of 20% RES in Europe by 2020. 

Worker in Freiburg (DE) 

Currently, strong investment impulses, based on 

installations in Europe and exports to the rest of the 

world, dominate the economic impact of RES policies 

and therefore lead to positive overall effects. In order to 

maintain this positive balance in the future it will be 

necessary to uphold and improve the competitive position 

of European manufacturers of RES technology and to 

reduce the costs of renewable energies by exploiting 

their full earning potential. 

Therefore, policies which promote technological 

innovation in RES and lead to a continued and rapid 

reduction of implementation costs, will be of major 

importance. Besides implementing strong policies in the 

EU, it is essential to improve the international framework 

conditions for RES in order to create large markets, 

exploit economies of scale and accelerate research and 

development. 

8 

http://ec.europa.eu/energy/renewables/studies/doc/renewables/ 

2009_employ_res_summary.pdf 

9 

This is one of the key results of the Employ-RES study, conducted by 

a research consortium on behalf of the European Commission’s 

Directorate-General Energy and Transport. [http://isi.fraunhofer.de/isien/service/presseinfos/2009/pri09-10.php]. 

10 Ibid. 

14 


Socio-economic aspects of renewable energies in the 

EU 

According to reports, sales of more than €120 billion 

were made by the renewable energy sector in the EU 

in 2009 11 . The rankings were headed by Germany, with 

total sales of nearly €37 billion, followed after a 

considerable gap, by Denmark, France and Sweden, 

which together made a further €36 billion. Thus a total of 

60% of sales by the entire renewable energy sector was 

due to these four countries. With more than €38 billion – 

i.e. nearly one third of the total volume – wind energy is 

the sector with the biggest sales. Solid biomass and 

photovoltaic power take second and third place. 

In 2009, there were already 910,000 jobs in the 

renewable energy sector throughout the EU. With 

over 333,000 jobs, Germany had the largest share, 

followed by France with a further 135,000 jobs. As far as 

the individual sectors are concerned, solid biomass 

comes first with about 284,000 jobs, followed by wind 

energy with about 244,000 jobs. In 2010 more than 3.5 

million people were employed in the renewable 

energies sector world-wide. 

Figure 2: Sales in the RES sector 12 

Professional qualifications and accreditation in the 

renewable energies sector 

Successful transition to a sustainable economy, and 

increased deployment of RES technology, requires 

employees with the right skills and qualifications. 

Research, manufacturing, operations and maintenance, 

construction and development are all areas of 

employment growth within the RES sector and will 

continue to develop as the industry secures further 

investment. However, there is often a lack of appropriate 

training at Further/Higher education institutions and 

11 http://www.erneuerbare-energien.de/inhalt/42848/42761/ 

12 EmployRES Study: The impact of renewable energy policy on 

economic growth and employment in the European Union, carried out 

for the Directorate-General for Energy and Transport in the European 

Commission, 

http://ec.europa.eu/energy/renewables/studies/doc/renewables/2009_e 

mploy_res_summary.pdf 


15

vocationally within the industry itself. Professional 

accreditation for transferrable skills and industry 

employees needs to be developed in a similar manner 

to that developed in the waste management industry. 

A booming sector such as renewable energies needs a 

continuous influx of qualified staff – both from a skilled 

labour background as well as an engineering or 

otherwise academic background. Unless this influx is 

secured the often quoted lack of skilled employment 

will slow down the positive development in the 

sector, which would be bad news for both the 

employment market and the economic climate 13 . The 

rapid uptake of RES presents many challenges, most 

notably because of what is often a rapid change in skills 

requirements. This can be difficult to respond to because 

of the lead time for individuals to acquire skills. 

Social 

Communities are important drivers in the development of 

renewable energies. They can benefit at the same time 

because, as a rule, previously imported energy fuel, or 

final energy, will be replaced by local energy sources, 

technologies and services. At the same time, a series of 

value added steps take place within the community itself 

and can generate positive local economic effects. 

Assessment of community benefits is important in 

understanding how to promote the uptake of RES 

technologies. 

Figure 3 : Jobs in the RES sector in 2009 14 

Little is known about the real 

impact on local economies, i.e. 

which of the value added steps 

generally take place in the 

community and to what extent. 

In relation to the different 

possibilities, and potential to 

generate local value added by 

different renewable energy 

technologies, the knowledge 

gap is even greater. This is 

particularly surprising, since 

communities are increasingly 

recognizing the benefits of 

renewable energy and want to 

raise its potential. Moreover, a 

slight trend towards ‘100% 

renewable energy communities’ 

can be identified on a local and 

regional level. This highlights 

the high demand for such 

information and knowledge 152 . 

13 

Ibid. 

14 

Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI: 

Policies for Renewable Energy Boost Economy and Jobs, Press 

Release 03/06/2009, Karlsruhe Germany. 

http://isi.fraunhofer.de/isi-de/service/presseinfos/2009/pri09-10.php 

15http://www.ioew.de/uploads/tx_ukioewdb/IOEW_SR_196_ 

Kommunale_Wertsch%C3%B6pfung_durch_Erneuerbare_Energien.pdf 

16 


Figure 4: Key ingredients of local value added 

source: Institut für ökologische Wirtschaftsforschung (IÖW), Berlin 

Stakeholder Engagement/Local networks 

The issue of how public acceptance for renewable 

energy develops and how greater public acceptance can 

be achieved has been the focus of extensive research 

throughout the EU. The evidence demonstrates that 

the earlier public involvement in 'siting' decisions 

takes place, the better the acceptance when 

construction starts. Research also indicates that 

dissemination of information about RES technology and 

its contribution to the mitigation of climate change 

encourages local acceptance in relation to 

implementation. Practices encouraging transparency 

and open communication post-construction also 

enhance local acceptance. 

For the continuous and comprehensive development of 

renewable energies to primary energy and electricity 

supply, the acceptance and endorsement of broad 

layers of population and actors is urgently needed. 

Affected residents can prevent a planned wind or solar 

park being constructed in their community during 

planning and permitting procedures. 

Successful implementation depends very heavily on the 

commitment of the actors in business, science, politics, 

government and civil society. It is this collaboration and 

interaction, which often determines whether renewable 

energy projects which were planned by the respective 

municipalities and regions, can be promoted and 

implemented successfully. This commitment in turn 

depends on a number of factors and conditions. 

Main obstacles to the sustainable development of 

renewable energies 

There are a number of factors which are considered to 

operate as obstacles to the effective deployment of RES 

at a regional, or local, level, namely: 

Inadequate, or lack of, regional strategy for 

energy policy; 

Lack of information in the field of renewable 

energies in public, business and administration 

sectors; 

Lack of networking and co-operation 

opportunities among actors; 

Acceptance deficits, in particular: 

- Fears among the population in terms of 

impact on 'quality of life' (noise, smell, change 

in the landscape); 

- NIMBY ("Not in my Backyard“ mentality); 

- The local distribution of stress is perceived as 

unjust, in comparison to the wider distribution 

of benefits / profits; 

- The participation, and engagement of, 

stakeholders is perceived as inadequate; 

- Polarizing negative headlines on renewable 

energy in the media; 

- Ethical concerns in the field of bioenergy 

(competition between food and biomass 

production). 


17

Levels of acceptance can be increased by: 

Improvement of the information disseminated 

to the different target groups; 

Improvement of overall political strategy, 

creation of regional energy policy frameworks 

Enhanced cooperation between the actors, 

involvement of stakeholders and improved 

networking by actors; 

Full participation of the population in political 

decision-making relating to RES; 

Taking the fears of the population seriously 

and responding to them appropriately; 

Profit-sharing and enhancement of community 

benefits in proximity of site; 

Greater harmonisation of nature and 

technology, improved land use; 

Community participation in resulting benefits 

- both financial, as well as with regard to the 

regional economy and the improved personally 

quality of life. 

Social / Local Acceptance 

Many regional mechanisms for development permission 

of RES are developer-led, the outcome being that the 

public are presented with a proposal for consideration; 

rather than the local community being consulted to 

assess what would be acceptable, or what their 

preferences are, in a given location. Extensive 

involvement of citizens and local stakeholders in the 

pre-planning process for renewable energy projects, 

as well as the development and implementation, is very 

important for the acceptance of projects 16 . 

Effective community participation should facilitate both 

the involvement of residents in the planning and creation 

as well as involvement in financial investments. Effective 

transparency throughout the deployment procedure 

also encourages greater levels of support. Research 

demonstrates that: 

Involvement of citizens and regional stakeholders 

on site increases the acceptance of renewable 


When building new facilities, residents, citizens 

and local businesses should fully be informed 

and consulted. 

16 

See: 'Activity and participation - acceptance of renewable energies by 

increasing participation' (2010, University of Magdeburg, Germany) 

[http://www-e.uni-magdeburg.de/upsy/akzeptanz/index.php] 

There are no harmonised procedures throughout 

the EU to guarantee participation and 

involvement of citizens and local actors at an 

appropriate time. Institutional participation 

structures are urgently needed. 

Renewable energy systems in private hands 

According to one recent study, in Germany for example, 

more and more citizens are deciding to take their energy 

supply into their own hands via microgeneration 17 . The 

public are investing in decentralised renewable energy 

plants, for example, 40% of installed RES capacity in 

Germany to generate electricity is in the possession of 

private individuals. The remaining market share breaks 

down as follows: 

14% project managers; 

13.5% energy supply companies; 

11% funds / banks; 

11% farmers; 

9% commercial / industrial companies; 

1.5% other. 

The figures highlight the importance of a broad 

acceptance of renewable energies in the population 18 . 

Figure 5 : Shares of nationwide installed capacity for 

electricity generation from renewable energy 

installations in 2010 in Germany (53,000 MW) 

17 

See report, 'Trend: research” (10/2011) Market Research. 

18 Ibid. 

18 


Toolkit and evaluation procedure for 

investment decisions 

There are several possibilities in the assessment of an 

investment, whereas in practice often only the payback 

period is considered as a criterion. The payback period, 

however, does not indicate an investment’s profitability, 

but rather only the time needed to “recover the money”. 

The payback period is therefore also only a measure of 

risk and not a measure of profitability. 

Since in the usual procedure, one and the same payback 

period is applied as a standard for all investments (e.g., 

three years), long-term investments — such as 

investments in renewable energies or energy efficiency 

— are subjected implicitly to higher profitability 

requirements. 

To avoid this problem, one requires a decision 

criterion based on a measure of profitability that 

considers the entire usage period of the investment. 

The internal rate of return and the present value meet 

these requirements. The two quantities are closely 

related to one another, as the internal rate of return 

ultimately only represents a special case of the present 

value calculation. 

Example: 

With a required payback period of three years, a 

production system with a useful life of five years still 

“earns” money for two years. However, a combined 

heat and power plant with a useful life of 12 years 

and the same payback period “earns” money for 

nine years and is therefore significantly more 

profitable than the production system under the 

same conditions. Such excessive implicit 

profitability requirements, however, prevent many 

investments in energy efficiency or renewable 


Few parameters are generally necessary for calculating 

the individual quantities: 

Parameter Payback period Internal rate of return Present value 

Amount invested incl. all planning and 

installation costs 

Changed operating costs and reduced 

energy costs 

X X X 

X X X 

Calculation interest rate X X 

Useful life X X 

Payback period (risk): 

This is the measure of risk that indicates how long it will 

be before the capital is returned or the capital is tied up. 

With a required payback period of three years or less, 

investments with long useful lives (> 6 years) are 

systematically rejected. The remaining useful life is not 

considered, even though this is decisive for the 

profitability of the investment. 

Example investment 

Amount to be invested (expenditure): 

- €8,000 

Costs saved annually2: €2,000 

Interest rate: 10% 


19

Investition 

eingesparte Kosten 

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2012,4 ... 2017 

- 8.000 € 2.000 € 2.000 € 2.000 € 2.000 € 2.000 € 740 € irrelevant 

1.818 € 

1.653 € 

1.503 € 

1.366 € 

1.242 € 

418 € 

0 € 

Translations: Investition = Investment; eingesparte Kosten = “Costs saved” 

Example: 

In 2007, €8,000 is invested, and from 2008 the 

company saves €2,000 per year. These annual 

savings are discounted at 10% on the year 2007 

(first column of the table) and then added up. At the 

chosen interest rate of 10%, it takes 5.4 years for 

the €8,000 to be returned. This is the investment's 

payback period for the stated interest rate. At a 0% 

interest rate, the payback period is exactly four 

years, because in this case there is no discounting 

and the following is true: 4 years x 2,000 €/year = 

€8,000. 

The business only earns money with the investment 

when the payback period has ended. The longer the 

useful life of the investment, the more profitable the 

investment is. This aspect is not, however, considered 

when calculating the payback period. The payback period 

is therefore also not a measure of profitability, but rather 

a measure of risk that indicates how long the capital used 

for the investment is tied up. 

Internal rate of return (profitability): 

The internal rate of return indicates up to what financing 

interest rate an investment is profitable. The internal rate 

of return corresponds to the effective annual percentage 

rate of a loan with constant deferred payments. The 

calculation is best carried out using a calculation 

program, since it can no longer be solved analytically for 

multi-year investments. 

The following example shows the basic procedure. 



-€8,000 

Annual costs saved1: €2,000 

Useful life: 

10 years 

Investition 


2007 2008 2009 2010 … 2017 

- 8.000 € 2.000 € 2.000 € 2.000 € 2.000 € 2.000 € 

1.647 € 

1.357 € 

1.118 € 

… 

288 € 

0 € 


20 


The interest rate is sought for which all annual returns 

(here: costs saved annually) must be discounted, so that 

the sum of these discounted payments equals the 

amount invested, or: -€8,000 (investment) + discounted 

returns = €0. If this interest rate is significantly higher 

than the interest rate at which the money can be 

borrowed (outside capital) or invested (company capital), 

the investment is profitable. In the above example, the 

internal rate of return is 21.4%. 



Present value (profitability): 

The present value is the current gain (loss) of an 

investment. This is also clarified best by means of an 

example. In contrast to the internal rate of return, here 

the interest rate is specified. In this respect, the internal 

rate of return is a special case of the present value 

calculation, for which the present value is set at zero and 

the equation is then solved for the (sought) interest rate. 

-€8,000 

Annual costs saved3: €2,000 

Useful life: 

10 years 

Interest rate: 10% 

Investition 


2007 2008 2009 … 2017 

- 8.000 € 2.000 € 2.000 € 2.000 € 2.000 € 

1.818 € 

1.653 € 

… 

771 € 

4.289 € 


If one discounts the repayments of the above investment 

at 10 % and then subtracts from these repayments the 

invested sum of €8,000, the investor retains €4,289 at the 

time of the investment (2007), which he can record as 

profit, provided the repayments occur as planned. 

You can find the tool for investment calculations 

here: 

http://www.retsproject.eu/UserFiles/File/tools/Tool_Irees_Investitionsber 

echnung_Kowener.xls 


21

22 


Chapter 3 

Renewable Energy Technology Sectors 


23

Overview 

Over the last 20 years the pace of renewable energy 

technology take-up across Europe has been variable with 

some countries making progress in line with international 

agreements and others taking the decision to move 

ahead more rapidly by adopting more challenging energy 

and carbon targets and designing national social, 

economic and political strategies accordingly. 

The take-up of any particular renewable energy 

technology is of course limited by national resource 

availability. For example: 

Countries in the Southern Europe have the 

greatest potential for the exploitation of solar 

energy. 

Countries to the North-West of the region are 

best placed to exploit offshore wind energy. 

Woodland and forest densities are higher in 

countries to the east of the zone and are 

therefore better placed to exploit Biomass energy 

generation. 

Italy leads the EU deep geothermal energy 

generation thanks to its favourable geological 

conditions. 

In general renewable electrical energy resource 

utilisation has in many cases resulted in a move away 

from the traditional centralised large scale power 

generation to smaller scale, distributed energy supply 

units. This move has been driven by governmental 

economic tools such licensed electricity supplier 

‘Renewable Obligations’, Feed-in tariffs etc. In theory this 

should stimulate supply competition and help reduce 

transmission and distribution losses and costs. 

The widespread utilisation of renewable energy 

will require the adoption of’ load demand 

management’ with the introduction of variable 

electricity tariff structures, the installation of 

‘smart’ meters for all consumers and a change in 

consumer attitude through education. 

The development of advanced, adaptive grid 

control software able to match supply and 

demand while maintaining a high degree of 

supply reliability and security. 

An analysis of renewable energy technology business 

activity (employment and turnover) across Europe (2010) 

is summarised in the figures below. 

Figure 6: Renewable technology sector employment 

(direct and indirect) across Europe (2010) 19 

Renewable energy is, to a great extent, intermittent. This 

disadvantage will require significant technological 

development, innovation and investment in infrastructure 

and many programmes are already underway. For 

example: 

Continued research into energy storage 

technologies such as pressurised air 

electrochemical energy storage. 

On a continental scale an electrical ‘Supergrid’ is 

being proposed to accommodate the regional 

variations renewable energy supply and demand 

with a long term goal of extending the network to 

Northern Africa. 

Figure 7: Renewable energy technology 

sector turnover across Europe, 2010 20 

The following sections detail the current state (2010) of 

the most commonly deployed renewable energy 

technologies across Europe. 

19 

Source of statistical data: www.eurobserv-er.org/ 

20 Ibid. 

24 


Solar Photovoltaic Technology 

Introduction 

Photovoltaic (PV) systems are silicon-based, solar 

energy to electricity converters. Overall performance 

depends on many factors including latitude, angle of 

collector, time of day and month, shading, climatic 

conditions and system conversion efficiency. The device 

produces direct current (DC) and electronic conversion to 

alternating current (AC) is facilitated by a device known 

as an inverter. 

Employment, market development and generating 

capacity 

The total cumulative installed capacity to date (2010) 

across Europe was reported as being in excess of 29,000 

MW peak with capacity leaders being Germany, Spain and 

Italy. The market development of this technology has 

been very much linked with the adoption of national 

renewable energy feed-in tariffs. 

It is estimated that employment linked with the 

manufacture and deployment of this technology across 

the EU is in excess of 268,000. In general countries at 

the top of the installed capacity league 

table have mirrored the technological 

roll-out with jobs. 

The market is valued at approximately 

€45,500 million. 

PV panels in Weinbourg, France 

EU resource assessment 

The potential for energy capture varies with latitude 

across the EU. For most countries with northerly 

latitudes, 1 kW peak of installed PV will produce around 

740 kWhe per year whilst for countries with more 

southern latitudes this could increase to over 1,400 kWh e 

per year. 

The EU commission’s forecast suggests that PV could 

provide 12% of European electricity demand by 2020. 

European countries with high solar irradiation and high 

electricity prices e.g. Spain, Italy are expected to have 

PV cost of electricity production at ‘grid parity’ by 2012 

and most other EU countries by 2020. 

Research, development and demonstration in the EU 

The key areas for PV research are: 

Improvements in efficiency and material 

intensities in current crystalline PV technologies; 

Improvements in efficiency and lifespan of thin 

film PV technologies; 

Development of third generation ultra-high 

efficiency, low cost novel technologies; 

New methods of grid management e.g. advanced 

communications and condition monitoring, to 

allow high levels of PV power in the system; 

Reducing ‘balance of system’ i.e. inverter, 

controller, isolator etc. costs. 


25

Solar Thermal Technology 

Introduction 

Solar thermal systems convert solar radiation into heat by 

collecting the incoming energy in an array of fluid filled 

pipes. Heat capture is maximised by collector thermal 

design characteristics such as enclosure, insulation and 

the use of appropriate energy absorbing materials. 

Depending on temperature the fluid can be used for 

domestic hot water purposes, space heating, district 

heating and swimming pools. 

Non-focusing collectors are able to produce water at 

temperature of around 200°C for use in industrial 

applications. Focusing solar collectors are able to 

produce temperatures in excess of 200°C suitable for 

electricity production. Typical conversion efficiencies are 

in the range 25-50%. 



the EU is of the order of 50,000. In general countries at 

the top of the installed capacity league table have 

mirrored the technological roll-out with jobs but other 

countries such as Italy, France also indicate significant 

contributions to the total. 

The market is valued to be around €3,900 million. 


The key areas for solar thermal research are: 

Small solar assisted cooling systems; 

Cost effective long-term thermal storage; 

Solar air heating for high ventilation rate 

applications; 

Solar heating for drying and desalination; 

Solar focusing dish technology. 

Solar thermal panels in Austria 


Annual solar radiation levels on a horizontal surface 

range from 900 kWh/m 2 at northern European latitudes to 

1,600 kWh/m 2 at Mediterranean latitudes. Angling the 

collector optimally can add about 10% to these figures. 


capacity 

The total cumulative installed capacity to date (2010) 

across Europe was reported as approximately 

25,000 MW peak with capacity leaders being Germany, 

Spain, Greece and Austria. 

26 


Solid Biomass Technology 

Introduction 

Plants use carbon dioxide, water and solar energy as raw 

materials to generate biomass. Biomass fuel comes in 

many forms including wood, logs, bark, sawdust, straw 

and peat (solid biomass),organic waste, manure (wet 

biomass),sugar and starch plants(beet, cereals etc.) and 

oil crops (rape, sunflower etc.).Biomass fuels can be 

used to generate heat, co-generate heat and electricity or 

manufacture liquid biofuels for transport applications. At a 

first approximation the carbon dioxide released during the 

combustion of biomass is neutral as it originated in the 

atmosphere. 

Average holding size in the public sector (e.g. 

municipalities, communes etc.) is much larger where 

holding sizes of the order of 1000 hectares are common. 

These are typically managed to meet local needs. Public 

forest ownership is particularly dominant in most of the 

eastern and south-eastern EU Member States. 

Agriculture is also becoming an important source of 

biomass/bio-fuels as the industry is now encouraged to 

grow products to supply current market demand using, 

for example, set-aside land and becoming ‘Energy 

farmers’. 

The European Biomass Association suggests that 

biomass energy production could expand to 220 Mtoe 

per annum by 2020. 


capacity 

The total primary energy production from biomass (2010) 

across Europe was reported as being approximately 

80 Mtoe with leaders being Germany, France, Sweden 

and Finland. Annual solid biomass electricity production 

was almost 70,000 million GWh (i.e. 70,000 TWh) across 

the region with Germany, Finland, Sweden and Poland 

leading the league of generators. 



the EU is in excess of 270,000. In general countries at 

the top of the installed capacity league table have 

mirrored the technological roll-out with jobs. 


Biomass boiler, Wales 


The forests and other woodlands of the EU account for 

approximately 1.7million km 2 of the Union’s surface area. 

This is more than more than 40% of total land mass. 

These areas are split between private (60%) and public 

(40%) ownership. Average holding size in the 16 million 

private sector owners is of the order of 13 hectares 

however the mode is typically less than 5 hectares. 


The key areas for biomass research are: 

Maximising resource utilisation e.g. use of branch 

bark; 

Environmentally benign production of BTL (a type 

of bio-fuel made from wood or straw); 

Development of reliable, cost effective and fuel 

flexible biomass gasification technologies for the 

small to medium scale (100 MW) power 

production; 

Efficient emissions and particulates removal; 

Algal fuel sources; 

New or improved biomass harvesting storage and 

logistics. 


27

Offshore/Onshore Wind Technology 

Introduction 

Differential solar heating across the planet results in 

warm air rising from the equator and travelling towards 

the earth’s Polar Regions. The planet’s rotation 

superimposes an east- west motion to the atmosphere 

resulting in complex air patterns, the generation of 

regional vortices and air pressure variations. Wind is the 

result of air rushing from high pressure to low pressure 

areas. 

Wind turbines capture the kinetic energy of the wind, 

turning it into rotational energy via an arrangement of 

blades on a central shaft which is in turn connected to an 

electrical generator. Wind turbine geometry can vary but 

they are generally categorised by the alignment of the 

power take –off shaft into vertical axis and horizontal axis 

machines. 

Machine outputs are available from Watts to Megawatts. 

Horizontal axis machines have higher theoretical 

efficiencies and dominate the market at the higher output 

levels. Vertical axis machines have their advantages, for 

example, lower start-up velocities and not having to track 

to face the wind, but current designs face structural 

stability issues in the Megawatt range. 


Land based: The main areas in the EU with a large wind 

resource potential are in the north-west – Belgium, 

Denmark, north- western France, northern Germany, the 

Netherlands and the UK and Ireland. Large parts of 

Greece and Spain are also suitable. In newer EU 

countries wind resource assessments are less extensive 

but the east coast of the Baltic and the Black sea coast 

are promising. 

Serra Do Ralo wind farm, Portugal (by ECW) 

28 


Offshore: Offshore wind velocities are higher and more 

predictable than onshore. Moreover they do not attract 

the same level of visual/acoustic impact complaint as 

land based developments. Focusing on locations of up to 

30km offshore and water depths of up to 40m, there is a 

huge potential wind energy resource for electricity 

production in the seas around the EU coastline (>3000 

TWh/annum,~5% of global wind resource). 


capacity 

The total cumulative installed capacity for wind energy 

(2010) across Europe was reported as being 

approximately 85,000 MW peak with leaders being 

Germany, Spain, Italy, France and Italy. Annual wind 

sourced electricity production was approximately 

149 TWh across the region with Spain, Germany, the UK, 

France and Portugal leading the league of generators. 



the EU is in excess of 250,000. The European wind 

employment league is topped by Germany followed by 

Spain, Italy and Denmark. 



Generating electricity from the wind was first 

demonstrated in the 19th century. However wind turbines 

are still a high-tech product requiring a critical 

understanding of meteorology, aerodynamics, stress and 

mechanical vibration, electronic control, transient power 

production and grid integration. Co-operation between 

universities, manufacturers, financial institutions and end 

–users is co-ordinated by the European wind energy 

association (EWEA) and other bodies. 

EWEA state ‘the key areas for current wind 

energy research are: 

Improving the design and layout of wind farms; 

Increasing the reliability, accessibility and 

efficiency of wind turbines; 

Optimising the maintenance, assembly and 

installation of offshore turbines and their 

substructures; 

Demonstrating large wind turbine prototypes and 

large, interconnected offshore wind farms; 

New methods of grid management to allow high 

levels of wind power in the system; 

Expansion of education schemes and better 

training facilities.’ 

The European commission 2009 communication 

‘Investing in the development of low carbon technologies’ 

proposes investing 6 billion euro of private and public 

funds in wind power research between 2010 and 2020. 


29

Renewable Municipal Waste Technology 

Introduction 

The best solution to the waste problem is not to produce 

waste. If its generation is unavoidable, reuse and 

recycling should first be considered. When these options 

are exhausted energy recovery should be employed. 

The two most commonly employed energy recovery 

techniques for municipal solid waste (biodegradable 

garden, kitchen and food waste) are anaerobic digestion 

and incineration. 



the EU is in excess of 25,000. In general countries at the 

top of the installed capacity league table have mirrored 

the technological roll-out with jobs. 


Advanced thermal processes such as pyrolysis, 

gasification and plasma gasification. 

Anaerobic digestion uses bacteria to break down organic 

material into 3 streams: a solid digestate, a liquid effluent 

and a biogas comprising typically two-thirds methane. 

The methane can be burnt directly in a gas engine or 

cleaned, filtered and energised for gas grid injection. 

Incineration is the combustion of treated waste streams. 

The energy released can be used for heating, hot water 

or electricity generation. 

Of course both technologies result in the generation of 

carbon dioxide. As methane produced by decomposition 

has a global warming potential many times that of CO2, 

energy recovery with these technologies is the preferred 

option. 


The European Commission claims that 88 million tonnes 

Municipal waste are produced every year in the EU and 

that this figure will rise annually by 10% up to 2020. 


capacity 

The total primary energy production from renewable 

municipal waste (2010) across Europe was reported as 

being approximately 8,000 ktoe with leaders being 

Germany, France, the Netherlands and the Sweden. 

Annual renewable waste electricity production was a little 

over 17,200 GWh with the league of generators mirroring 

primary energy production. 

30 


Small Scale Hydro Technologies 

Introduction 

Water or Hydropower is not a new technology and was 

probably the most important source of motive power by 

the 16 th century in Europe. However the simple 

‘overshot’, ‘undershot’ and ‘breastshot’ water wheels 

have become the more modern, Francis, Kaplan, Pelton 

and Turgo turbines of the 21 st century. Nevertheless the 

underlying principle is the same that of converting the 

potential energy change of a falling water source into 

kinetic and rotational energy and the connection of a 

rotating shaft to an electrical generator. 

Annual hydro-sourced electricity production was 

approximately 46,000 GWh across the region the league 

of generators mirroring installed capacity. It is estimated 

that employment linked with the manufacture and 

deployment of this technology across the EU is almost 

16,000 with the employment league again mirroring 

national installed capacity. 


Small-scale hydroelectric power, Eco Centre Wales 


There is little remaining potential for new large scale 

hydropower schemes in the EU however the small scale 

(

Geothermal and Ground Source Heat 

Pump Technologies 

Introduction 

The core of the earth is at a temperature of 5000- 

6000°C. Although the distance to the centre of the planet 

is approximately 6500 km, heat is transferred radially 

outward and there is still useful heat to be exploited 

several km below the surface. This energy is most readily 

exploited by identifying deep porous rocks (aquifers) 

containing hot, pressurised ground water. A borehole 

drilled into the strata will release the water to the surface 

where if it is in excess of 150°C it will be suitable, via a 

heat exchanger, for use in electricity generation. If at a 

lower temperature it may still be suitable for district 

heating. 


Installed geothermal electricity capacity is around 1 GWe 

in the EU-27 (2011) producing 0.2% of the total EU 

electricity production. Current resource assessment 

techniques indicate that EU geothermal resources are 

significant having the potential to supply at least 15% of 

area’s electricity consumption in 2050. 


capacity 

In 2010 deep geothermal energy sources were 

responsible for the electrical generation of approximately 

5,600 GWh. League leaders are Italy, Portugal, Germany 

and France. Direct heating usage of geothermal energy 

is about 660 ktoe with Hungary, Italy, France and 

Slovakia as the main producers. 

Geothermal energy, Soultz-sous-Forêts, France 

Much nearer the surface, due to its heat storage 

properties and solar gain, soil and water temperature is 

relatively stable relative to ambient air and required 

indoor temperatures. This property makes surface 

water/ground water sources and the ground itself suitable 

as a heat source in the winter (and heat sink in the 

summer) for a reversible ground source heat pump. 



the EU is in excess of 12,000 with the bulk of the jobs 

being in Italy, France and Germany. In The market is 

valued to be nearly €1.1 billion. 

In 2010 ground source heat pump energy sources were 

responsible for the capture of approximately 2,000 ktoe 

with total installed plant capacity of around 12,600 MW th . 

32 


League leaders are Sweden, Germany, Finland and 

France. 



the EU is approximately 40,000 with the employment 

league again mirroring national installed capacity. 

A major EU funded project in the area of geothermal 

energy has been the Enhanced Geothermal System - 

EGS Pilot Plant. The 1.5 MW scheme, situated in Soultzsous-Forêts 

on the French German border has 

developed improvements in multi-well drilling, simulation 

and diagnostic methods and technology selection for 

maximising resource extraction. 


Heat pump at the Heerlen Mine Water Project, the 

Netherlands 


The key research areas for geothermal energy 

exploitation are the: 

development of assessment methods for 

geothermal systems and the creation of quality 

public databases; 

development of exploration methods for deep 

geothermal resources; 

development of high temperature, pressure and 

salinity resistant instrumentation and pump 

technology; 

development of low temperature, high efficiency 

turbines; 

exploitation of large off-shore geothermal 

reservoirs and ultra-deep (>10 km) geothermal 

resources; 

Development of heat pump natural refrigerants. 


33

Biomass sourced liquid and gaseous 

fuels 

Introduction 

Biomass can be processed to produce liquid and 

gaseous fuels. 

Liquid fuels include Biodiesel (chemically modified 

vegetable oil), Bioethanol (ethyl alcohol from high sugar 

based feedstock), Methanol (methyl or wood alcohol) and 

Pyrolysis oil. 

Both biodiesel and ethanol are used in blends with diesel 

and gasoline respectively. Bioethanol/ gasoline blends 

can be up to 85% ethanol depending on application 

although 10% is more common. Biodiesel/diesel blends 

can be up to 20% biodiesel. 

Routes to Biogas production in the EU are threefold: 

Purpose built methanation plants on farms and food 

processing facilities: Landfill sites: Industrial effluent 

treatment plants. Dedicated methanation plants account 

for approximately two thirds of European production. 

Growth in biogas production is largely targeted at 

electricity production. Further processing of biogas to 

produce biomethane suitable for gas grid injection is also 

in a growth phase. 


capacity 

In 2010 the total production of biogas energy was 

estimated to be nearly 11 000 ktoe. Biogas was 

responsible for the electrical production of over 30 000 

GWh. Lead generators of biogas and biogas-sourced 

electricity are Germany, UK, Italy and France. 



the EU is almost 53,000 with the employment league 

again mirroring national generation. 


In 2010 the total consumption of biofuels for energy was 

estimated to be nearly 14,000 ktoe. Lead consumers of 

biofuels are Germany, France, Spain and Italy. 

Biogas plant, Denmark 

Gaseous fuels include Biogas (CH4/CO2), Producer gas 

(CO, H2, CH4, N2, CO2) and Synthesis gas (CO/H2). 

Biogas is produced by the anaerobic (oxygen-free) 

digestion of organic waste by bacteria and is typically up 

to 80% methane by volume with the remainder being 

principally carbon dioxide but also containing traces of 

carbon monoxide, hydrogen and nitrogen. Producer gas 

is manufactured by heating woody material in the 

presence of insufficient air (partial oxidation). Synthesis 

gas is a similar gasification process utilising oxygen 

instead of air. 


Over three quarters of all biofuel used in transport 

applications is Biodiesel with Bioethanol accounting for a 

further fifth of consumption. However the growth in 

Bioethanol demand outstripped that of biodiesel in 2010. 



the EU is around 151,000 with the employment league 

again mirroring national generation. 

The market is valued to be over €13,000 million. 


The key research areas for biogas and biofuel energy 

exploitation are: 

Optimised anaerobic digestion processes; 

Bioremediation of Landfill Leachate and Coproduction 

of Biodiesel; 

Diverting Food Waste From Landfills; 

Comparative anaerobic digestion vs. landfill 

gas production studies; 

Using algal biomass as feedstock; 

High temperature/pH enzyme engineering. 

34 


Sources of Information 

General 

http://www.erec.org 

http://www.eurobserv-er.org/ 

http://www.eurec.be 

Geothermal and Ground Source Heat Pumps 

http://www.egec.org/ 

http://www.egshpa.com/ 

http://www.ehpa.org/ 

http://geothermal-energy.org/ 

Solar PV 

http://re.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pvgis/ 

http://www.epia.org 

Small Hydro 

http://www.esha.be/ 

http://www.british-hydro.org/ 

Solar thermal 

http://www.estif.org/ 

Wind 

http://www.wind-energy-the-facts.org/en/home--aboutthe-project.html 

Liquid and Gaseous Biofuels 

http://www.european-biogas.eu 

http://www.ebb.eu.org 

http://www.ebio.org 

http://www.epure.org 

http://www.ewea.org/ 

http://www.windatlas.dk/europe/About.html 

http://www.bwea.com/ 

Solid biomass 

http://www.aebiom.org/ 

http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/fore/publi/2007_2011/broc 

hure_en.pdf 

http://www.eubia.org 

http://www.biomassenergycentre.org.uk 

Renewable Municipal waste 

http://www.cewep.eu/index.html 

http://www.municipalwasteeurope.eu/ 


35

36 


Chapter 4 

Types of intervention at the local level 


37

In all countries national policy is set by the national 

government, but there is a wide variety in how this can be 

implemented at the local level. Some countries allow far 

greater flexibility in terms of investment and action by 

their local authorities which have allowed long term 

strategies to be deployed. This approach is far more 

likely to be successful than ad-hoc sporadic projects. 

Interventions at a local level for renewable energy can 

take several forms, but some have proved much more 

common than others. In many cases local authorities 

have used several of the approaches below and there is 

often some overlap between these approaches. 

Partnership working is very common especially with trade 

organisations, chambers of commerce, local energy 

charities and universities. 

Local authorities making use of 

renewable energy and energy efficiency 

techniques in their own buildings. 

The most common intervention at a local level has been 

local authorities making use of renewable energy and 

energy efficiency techniques in their own buildings 

(e.g. town halls, swimming pools, schools, kindergartens) 

or through the development of new exemplar buildings. 

These are often done to demonstrate leadership and 

legitimacy of renewable energy at the local level as well 

as providing a showcase for the new technologies. Such 

actions by the public sector are often necessary in the 

early stages of new technologies and building techniques 

due to early high costs. 

In some countries the provision of social/rented housing 

by local authorities allows neighbourhood level schemes 

such as widespread installation of PV or district heating. 

Taking a neighbourhood approach can be a far more 

cost-effective means of delivering renewable 

energy/energy efficiency as opposed to tackling 

individual houses due to the economies of scale. 

Furthermore, such work can be tied to a general 

upgrading of the housing stock. This approach may 

include the use of intermediate labour markets 

comprising of training up long term of youth employed to 

carry out part of the work, thus improving their skills, 

creating green jobs and keeping the money in the local 

economy. By specifying such mechanisms in the initial 

tender of work local authorities can lever in additional 

benefits for their local economy. 

The RETS website provides full examples of these 

schemes, in this chapter we provide some concise 

examples for: 

a. A municipal swimming pool in Serta, Portugal. 

b. A scheme for social housing in Kirklees, UK. 

c. A low impact nursery building in Cuveglio, Italy. 

Community owned energy schemes 

The emergence of community owned energy 

schemes, often based on an income stream produced by 

feed in tariffs has occurred in pioneering countries such 

as Germany. There are far fewer of these types of 

intervention, but they are growing in number. 

One problem such large schemes have faced is 

unexpected changes to the funding regimes of feed in 

tariffs especially with regards to the cuts that have 

affected PV technology. The lack of a stable feed in tariff 

policy and the propensity for politicians to unexpectedly 

cut established tariffs has done much to undermine 

investor confidence in such schemes. 

The Zero Emission Village in Weilerbach in Germany is 

the featured example. 

Local authority planning and 

procurement policies 

Local authority planning and procurement policies 

that support renewable energy and the low carbon 

agenda. Most local authorities will have responsibility for 

creating local planning documents with direction from 

national policy. Such plans almost always have a spatial 

dimension in terms of zoning or policy with regards to 

renewable technologies. 

Procurement policy can be used to source goods and 

services by emphasising the lower carbon footprint of 

goods and services sourced from the local area. 

Examples include 

a. Association of Municipalities of Cove ad Beira, with 

Pinhel, Portugal. 

b. Morbach Energy Landscape in Rhineland- 

Palatinate, Germany. 

38 


c. The Green-Net project of Sittard- Geleen, 

Netherlands 

Private sector support schemes 

Publicly funded schemes to assist and develop the 

private sector take many forms and usually include a 

range of possible assistance for the firms. Such schemes 

are important to move the technologies and practices 

closer to market and to build overall confidence. The 

ultimate aim should be a flourishing private sector 

providing the services at a local level. 

Interventions include: 

cheap of free feasibility studies; 

soft loans or grants for installation; 

development of local supply chains; 

assistance with market research; 

new technology development; 

subsidised internships; 

knowledge transfer between universities and 

businesses (e.g. innovation vouchers); 

the use of cluster policy. 

More recently within business and innovation support 

there has been a movement away from supply led 

strategies (tightly defined by the programme managers 

allowable activities) to demand led strategies (more 

flexible programmes which support what the company 

has identified as needing). 

RETS project examples of private sector support 

schemes include: 

a. Pole of competitiveness Derbi, Languedoc 

Roussillon, France. 

b. The New Energy Sources Entrepreneurs’ 

Association - SunE, Bucharest-Ilfov, Romania. 

would seem to be desirable but there are few such 

courses in general. 

Training can cover all levels of skills and training such as: 

training people to install and maintain renewable 

technologies; 

to accredit existing skilled trades people; 

to provide confidence to consumers through 

certification schemes; 

the provision of undergraduate and postgraduate 

courses in technical and research orientated 

renewable energy at local universities; 

community organisations providing information on 

energy efficiency and grants. 

RETS project examples include 

a. Climate change Wales project to assist teachers 

and students in Wales. 

b. A Masters programme in “Management and Law in 

Renewable Energies and Sustainable Development” 

run at Strasbourg University, France. 

c. Professional training provided by Coprotec in 

France. 

In Chapter 5 we provide pen portraits of some for the 

best practices at the local level that have been gathered 

by the partners on the project. Full details of all practices 

are available on the main project website 

http://www.rets-project.eu 

The practices can be broadly divided into two main ways: 

By six different types of technology (biomass, waste, 

wind, hydro, geo, solar). 

By five different types of intervention (detailed above). 

Training, accreditation and education 

schemes. 

These are far less common as an intervention measure 

at a local authority level and are often carried out on the 

basis of one off projects rather than as part of a 

sustained training programme. Universities do provide 

both engineering courses as well as energy policy type 

courses. The development of hybrid postgraduate 

courses covering aspects of both engineering and policy 


39

40 


Chapter 5 

Best practices 


41

A scheme for social housing in Kirklees, 

UK 

Kirklees local authority is located roughly half way 

between the cities of Manchester and Leeds in West 

Yorkshire, UK. The borough has a population of 

approximately 400,000. 

The main obstacles to the wholesale take up of microgeneration 

renewable technologies are, not surprisingly, 

the upfront cost as well as monthly loan payments. In 

order to circumvent this problem Kirklees council 

launched the £3 million RE-Charge scheme in April 

2008. The scheme is to last 3 years and 10% of the 

funds have been ring fenced to support households 

identified as suffering fuel poverty. 

Technologies supported under the scheme are both 

solar thermal and PV, ground and air source heat 

pumps, micro-CHP, biomass and hydro-electricity. 

the original installation and this will be returned to the 

Council Renewable Energy Fund for further projects. 

From the householders perspective an annual benefit will 

be received through making savings by avoiding 

spiralling fossil fuel energy charges, increased property 

value or taking advantage of micro-generation feed-in 

tariffs. 

In order to maximise householder participation a limit of 

£10,000 per household has been set on any application. 

The £10,000 limit is seen as being suitable a typical 

2 kWp PV system, wood pellet boiler or GSHP 

installation. Any capital and installation cost excess has 

to be found by the householder. 

From the perspective of the homeowner the process is 

similar to any other domestic renovation/extension 

project requiring surveys, quotes, planning permissions 

etc. 

Mortgage providers need to be 

educated with respect to the kind of 

‘second charge’ associated with the 

scheme as their ‘in-principle’ consent 

is required and this was sometimes 

found to be difficult to obtain by the 

householders. 

Note that the holder of the second 

charge (the Council) has a legal call 

on the property but only after liabilities 

to the holder of the first charge (the 

mortgage provider) are settled. This 

administrational obligation remains 

with the householder. 

Kirklees, UK 

The scheme provides funding for property based 

renewable energy technology installations and is 

essentially an interest-free second charge or secured 

loan associated with the property repayable to the council 

on sale of the property or transfer of its ownership. (This 

is typically 7 years for owner occupied housing in the 

UK.) 

It is anticipated that the return of funds will be financed 

from equity built up in the property value since the time of 

By March 2009 the Council had 

received approximately 269 

expressions of interest applications 

for the scheme which resulted in 128 Home surveys and 

19 referrals to Kirklees Warm zone (a 3 year scheme 

offering free cavity wall and loft insulation irrespective of 

income within the local authority). 

After some application withdrawals the approximately 

115 schemes went ahead. 

The anticipated saving from the scheme to date are 350 

tonnes of CO2 per annum. 

Contact: http://www.kirklees gov.uk/ 

42 


A low impact nursery building in 

Cuveglio, Italy 

Background: 

The nursery in Mountain Community Valleys Verbano 

boasts a roof with 200 square meters of photovoltaic 

panels to produce electricity, which will operate the heat 

pumps. 

The facility can accommodate up to 60 children, from 

new born to three years of age, this project aimed to 

triple the capacity of the Community nursery Cuveglio 

and then being able to offer the service to all those 

municipalities of the territory that will sign the Agreement 

with the Agency Montano. 

Energy analysis: 

The plants described were made on the principle of 

maximum efficiency in terms of heat production using 

geothermal power plants with vertical impact of trying to 

limit the use of fossil fuels, in practice the building in 

question is locally zero-impact. 

Significant heating and domestic hot water savings were 

made, in terms of emissions: 8,934 kg CO2/year. Whilst, 

the estimated annual energy produced by the PV panels 

came to 35,580.90 kWh. Along with emissions savings 

of: 19,570 Kg CO2. 

The cost of this was around €150,000 and the funding 

came from the “Regione Lombardia”. The money was 

available due to a scheme aiming to help populations in 

mountainous areas, with the view of completing the 

geothermal system for heating/cooling of the nursery 

there. Hence, the nursery is equipped with central 

heating in winter and summer air conditioning with 

temperature control and humidity. 

In particular, the chosen design was adopted in order to 

ensure a comfortable environment and exploit the highenergy 

yield of such renewable systems (solar and 

geothermal), along with inherent high energy efficiency. 

In this way it integrates and completes the design of the 

nursery with a very small carbon footprint. 

Description of Systems: 

The air conditioning is made synthetically via the heat 

pumps, and radiant heating system for winter heating and 

summer cooling combined with dehumidification system. 

In order to produce heat two ground source heat pumps 

sensors connected to seven vertical depth of 

approximately 90 m each, one with reversible operation 

of thermal power of 20.8 kW for heating, cooling 

environments and for the production of sanitary hot 

water, the second version only hot heating capacity equal 

to 15.2 Kw. The choice of using two PdC is born from the 

need to have both hot and cold fluids during the summer 

and is to optimise the yield of the heat pump with radiant 

panels plant in service during the winter. 

Cuveglio Community Nursery, Italy 

Closing Note: 

We believe that the building-plant system designed to be 

a good example of the application of criteria for 

sustainable development in construction in particular for 

the aspects of energy optimisation and integration of 

renewable energy in buildings. 


43

The Zero Emission Village in Weilerbach 

Weilerbach is a municipality in the district of 

Kaiserslautern, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany having 

a population of about 14,500 inhabitants. The “Zero- 

Emission-Village” is the environmental protection project 

of the Weilerbach Union Community. 

The "Zero-Emission Village" project was aimed to test the 

feasibility of a CO2-neutrality in the energy supply in the 

area of the Weilerbach community. 

The scope of the study was to identify: 

The energy sources which are available in the 

Weilerbach region; 

How are these energy sources involved in the 

regional cycles; 

Whether it is possible to supply the region with 

energy by using the existing potential of CO2- 

neutral energy. 

The transport sector was not included in the study. 

The municipality contracted the study out to the Institute 

for Applied Material Flow Management (IfaS) at Trier 

University of Applied Sciences and carried out from 2001 

to 2003. 

changing user behaviour) and in the heat sector 

in the range of 40% (e.g. by improved insulation, 

optimised space heating, controlled ventilation) 

Regionally available energy resources like solar, 

wind and biomass are used totalling an annual 

energy generation of 60 million kWh. 

An exercise in public engagement also took place 

encompassing, information sessions in local 

communities, creation of a discussion and information 

group, information booths at events and info events at 

schools. In addition, the municipality has conducted 

further regional events and participated in national 

competitions and tenders. 

The community has also implemented several renewable 

energy projects including: 

5 wind turbines (5 x 2 MW;) 

4 district heating networks (for more than 350 

housing units) based on biomass; 

More than 50 small burners (pellets, wood chips, 

firewood) in private households; 

Over 100 PV systems with a capacity of 650 kWp 

250 solar thermal systems with a collector area of 

2,200 m²; 

Energy-efficient refurbishment of all primary 

schools with an average heating energy savings 

of 50%. 

Windpark, Weilerbarch, from weilerbach.de 

Biomass, Weilerbarch, from weilerbach.de 

The project found that a supply of locally available 

renewable energy sources is possible in quantitative 

terms providing that: 

Energy savings are made in the electricity sector 

in the range of 10% (e.g.by using energy efficient 

lighting, better IT energy management and 

To date, through these and other measures more than 25 

million € has been invested into the Union Community. At 

the time of writing 45% of the community’s energy 

consumption (42 million kWh) is supplied by renewable 

sources. 

Contact: http://www.zero-emission-village.de/ 

44 


Association of Municipalities of Cove ad 

Beira, with Pinhel, Portugal 

This project is intended to strengthen the Cross the 

Border Energetic Optimisation Plan (PTOE) bonds for 

the development of Renewable Energies. PTOE’s main 

goal was: to analyse and study the municipality buildings' 

electrical energy consumption, through the consumer’s 

monthly readings and its characteristics, as well as 

presenting solutions for the rationalisation of energy via 

proposed corrections / alterations for a more efficient 

management use of energy in those buildings. 

The study, which involved the Energy Optimisation Plan, 

is divided in four major areas which are: 

Energy optimisation of Public lighting networks; 

Energy optimisation of Municipal buildings; 

Taxes optimisation study; 

Powering factor correction. 

This project had a total cost of: €750,000. As far as 

Pinhel is concerned the Public lighting survey was made 

to 21 conversion posts in total 1,464 light spots (of which 

74% were sodium vapour light bulbs and 26% were 

mercury vapour light bulbs). The estimated energy 

reduction percentage is equivalent to 38%, which 

economically speaking represents an amount of €49,446 

if all measures were to be taken. These goals can only 

be obtained after a global investment of €136,125 in 

energy efficient equipment, being the estimated time of 

the investment's feedback of 2.75 years. These 

measurements also bring an environmental benefit 

through the reduction of polluting CO2 emissions of about 

562 ton/per year. 

Four Phases are planned, with phase 1, including the 

creation of an inventory data base (an energy 

dependency study); phase 2 with tariff analysis and data 

procession; phase 3 with the elaboration of an action 

plan (explicitly stating the measures); and phase 4 

involving the training of the municipal energy manager. 

One of the projects within the PTOE is MUNIEnergy: 

It is a Municipal Energetic Optimisation project which 

suggested measures targeted by both technical and 

economic studies aiming at the practical application of 

the measures identified in the PTOE. It investigates 

replacing electric energy by solar energy in sports’ 

pavilions, biomass energy in swimming pools and to 

produce electricity from solar conversion. 

Whilst a 32% reduction in bills for public lighting was 

achieved by the installation of a hundred lighting flux 

regulators placed on the transformation polls (to fit the 

light intensity to the hours of less movement) and by the 

replacement of over 8,600 light bulbs for electronic 

ballasts. The project includes 24 water heating systems 

across the Municipalities, 1400 m 2 of solar panels, 

reducing fossil fuel consumption by 890 MW, and CO2 by 

550 tonnes. 

Street lamps in Pinhel, Portugal 


45

Energy management tool for the 

Municipal buildings of Maribor, Slovenia 

Maribor municipality has a population of approximately 

200,000 and a wide range of municipal buildings 

(schools, offices etc.). Under the Local Energy Concept 

(plan) it has the twin objectives of reducing energy 

consumption in municipal buildings and replacing fossil 

fuels with renewable energy sources. 

As a first step to reach the above mentioned goals the 

Central Energy Management System (CEMS) was 

installed in 70 public buildings. CEMS is a software tool, 

which works on general data of the buildings, climate 

characteristic, energy use and consumption (energy 

bookkeeping). It can take into account saving measures, 

the price of energy, possible savings and CO2 emissions. 

The system offers around 2-3% energy saving potential 

just because of the good monitoring and 8% cost saving 

within of the first year of installation because of the found 

mistakes (on bills, in metering system). 

regarding the energy use, energy efficiency, costs, living 

conditions, GHG reduction and other environmental 

benefits. 

We can calculate and draw the specific indicators for 

each school regarding its area, number of pupils, weather 

conditions, CO2 emissions, etc. We also provide the 

information on the measurements for saving – 

noninvestment and investment ones. In the partnership 

with municipality department, that is responsible for 

financing the schools and kindergartens we can, with the 

help of CEMS, produce the reports of energy cost and 

future energy needs and use it in budgetary planning. 

With the help of the Central Energy Management System 

(CEMS) the municipality already reduced the energy cost 

for 160.000 EUR. This means that payback period is less 

than two years. In first year operation the drop in energy 

use was around 3% (805109 kWh and 1365 t CO2). This 

drop is only due to organisational measurements. 

Example of the software of Central Energy Management System front page 

In the first phase, in September 2008, we installed the 

CEMS in 28 primary schools and 32 kindergartens in the 

city of Maribor and we were the first one in Slovenia. The 

installation was accompanied with information and an 

educational campaign for people in different municipal 

sectors, for school headmasters and for financial officers 

at schools. Workshops organised was about the 

importance of energy matters in public buildings 

The total project budget is 250.000 EUR in 3 years for 

renting the software tool and 2 people working – one on 

the management system and one on educational activity. 

75% of the financial sources are covered by Municipality 

of Maribor and 25% by European Commission 

(programme Intelligent Energy Europe). 

Contact: http://www.energap.si/ 

46 


A municipal swimming pool in Sertã, 

Portugal 

The Municipality of Sertã is located in central Portugal 

and an approximate area of 446.6 km² with a population 

of 16,721 inhabitants. 

Sertã Municipal Swimming Pool opened to the public on 

September 29, 2009, and offers an assortment of 

sporting activities in the Sertã County. It aims to promote 

a healthy lifestyle, thus improving the quality of life of the 

local inhabitants. 

The swimming pool sports area has a workout gym, a 

25m x 12.5m semi‐Olympic pool with 6 lanes (500m 3 ) 

and a 12.5 m x 8 m pool (100m 3 ) for beginners. Both 

pools are heated to 27°C. 

A decision was taken to supplement the pools 

requirement for sanitary hot water and pool heating from 

roof mounted solar thermal collectors. 

Software modelling indicated that the required collector 

area for sanitary hot water heating would be 61.38 m 2 

producing an annual energy output of 41,673 kWh. 

Based on the pool sizes, a pool heating collector area 

was estimated to be 146.52 m 2 , producing an annual 

energy output of 119,629 kWh. 

This translated to105 panels each of area 1.98m 2 . 

For reasons of maximising annual efficiency and 

aesthetics this was reduced 96 panels installed. 

The installation predicted annual CO2 emissions saving 

was approximately 38 tonnes. 

The value of the contract was €140,403.98 + VAT. 

Contact: http://www.cm-serta.pt/ 

The sanitary hot water requirement was based on a 

consumption of 4000 litres per day (100 users each 

requiring 40 litres). 

The Swimming pool in Sertã Municipality, Portugal 


47

Morbach Energy Landscape in 

Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany 

Morbach is a municipality in the Bernkastel-Wittlich 

district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The basic 

concept of the "Morbach Energy Landscape" came 

from the Heads of local government in 2001. The 

community of Morbach (population 11,000) has defined 

its mission statement as follows: To be energy selfsufficient 

on the basis of renewable energy by the 

year 2020 and to cut CO2 emissions by over 50 per 

cent as against the year 2000. A plan was developed in 

collaboration with (35) external partners from economy 

and science to revitalise a disused NATO ammunitions 

dump at Wenigarath. 

Objectives of the scheme are energy saving, corporate 

and cross-functional energy chain creation, technology 

transfer and development of innovative environmental 

technologies/process improvements, intelligent material 

flow management and regional added value. The site 

utilises 14 x 2 MW wind turbines, 1.1 MWp of PV, and a 

biogas generation plant with an electrical output of 

500kWe and a thermal output of 700 kW th . 

The waste heat from the biogas plant is used locally in a 

wood pellet production facility capable of producing 

20,000 tonnes per annum. The total annual electrical 

generation of the scheme is estimated to be 50 million 

kWh (90% from wind), sufficient to power 15,000 homes. 

The sum total of investment for the above was €34 

million. By leasing the energy landscape the community 

has leasing receipts of €350,000 per year. This has been 

reinvested from the local budget into the community 

support programs in the field of building renovation and 

energy technology. 

The critical lessons learnt from the scheme are early 

information of the population by the administration, ecofriendly 

aims, economically meaningful concepts, a fair 

distribution of revenue, observing the possibilities of 

regional value added (e.g. citizens windmill), and 

minimisation of utilisation conflicts through intelligent land 

management. 

The scheme is estimated to reduce CO2 emissions by 

about 32,500 tons per year and has provided about 15- 

20 new jobs. 15 farmers have received a second 

income in the biomass sector. From 2003 to 2010, 

about 25,000 visitors from 80 countries and five 

continents visited the energy landscape. Influenced by 

the positive experiences the municipal Morbach decided 

in February 2009 to implement a district heating concept 

of the communal settlement based on a newly built woodfired 

power station. By the local heating network and the 

woodchip heating plant (7 MW) 2.4 million litres of fuel oil 

could be saved each year. The facilities and the district 

heating network will be operated by the municipality itself. 

Contact: http://www.morbach.de/ 

Poster of the Morbach site, Germany 

48 


The Green-Net project of Sittard-Geleen, 

Netherlands 

Overview 

The Green Net is based on the use of industrial waste 

heat, an application to reuse energy in a remarkably fair 

and practical way, warming houses and business 

premises through hot water. In 2010 the municipality of 

Sittard-Geleen started the support of a new company 

responsible for the delivery of this green energy. 

Main points of supply for the new warm water system are 

the extensive sites for the chemical industry in the area, 

operated by multinationals DSM and SABIC. A smaller 

source, but most sustainable in itself, will be the Bio 

Mass Central. 

The Basic idea 

Industry in general and especially production facilities in 

the (petro-) chemical sector require huge amounts of 

energy - processes also characterised by a large release 

of energy through the exhaust of warmth (in various 

ways, through air, water). Directly or secondary through 

the use of cooling water for machinery and the cooling of 

exhaust systems this waste can be collected. Still too 

seldom captured and reused, this will change through the 

Green Net. Thereby also addressing the problem of the 

discharge of cooling water in the natural habitat through 

canals and streams; the old way of dealing with industrial 

water. 

Green Net will provide a rather large area with 

renewed energy, providing the technical challenge to 

transport it without a too large loss of warmth. The piping 

system will have to be optimally isolated, creating 

substantial costs. Overall the required 29 kilometre of 

piping will cost 27 million euro, almost a million per 

kilometre. 

Eventually Green Net will connect 5,000 houses and 40 

business sites/companies. Compared to present day 

energy costs private households are expected to save 

1.5 million euro a year. Constructing Green Net will take 

up to 5 years. Generating employment during the 

process as well as after completion in the exploitation 

phase. 

The Green Net, the Netherlands 

Green Net is expected to save Sittard-Geleen’s citizens 

around €1.5 million a year, reducing the use of natural 

gas by 20 million m 3 a year, and reducing carbon dioxide 

emission by 40,000 tons a year. This project will be 

owned by the regional government. 

Green Net will cover and connect for example a container 

terminal / shipyard, Maastricht Aachen Airport, a football 

stadium and numerous houses and industrial premises 

along its way. 

Contact: http://www.hetgroenenet.nl/ 

Headline Statistics: 

Investment of €27 million; 

Yearly Energy savings for citizens of 1.5 million 

euro/year; 

CO2 reduction of 40,000 tons a year. 


49

Pole of competitiveness Derbi, 

Languedoc Roussillon, France 

Regarding renewable energies, the Region Languedoc 

Roussillon has 4 priorities: 

promoting environmentally responsible 

behaviours; 

aiming for energy efficiency; 

strengthening the regional market of renewable 

energies; 

following local energy policies. 

The total budget of the region in 2008 was €1 billion. 

Almost 3% of it was dedicated to renewable energies that 

is €28.6 million. 

In 2011, the region will focus on energy storage on the 

one hand, and operational solar power stations on the 

other hand. The Region also wants to develop 

cooperation with Spain. Regarding wind energy, the 

regional Grenelle 1 plan forecasts 1700 MW installed by 

2020 and 430 MW for the Photovoltaic solar energy. In 

terms of jobs, the objective is to upgrade 5% of buildings 

– which are more than 20 years old‐ annually. Besides, 

20% of the employees of the renewable energies sector 

should have access to professional training annually. 

However, this target is reduced to 10% for companies 

with less than 10 employees. 

As it is a labelled cluster it can receive more funding 

streams and easier access to state loans. Since it 

started, Derbi has accredited 153 projects, with €353 

million of investment. An international conference is also 

held each year for professionals from the renewable 

energy sector. In January 2011 a DCGIS report found 

that around half of the collaborative projects led to new 

products or processes. 

Key facts and figures 

Today, DERBI has more than 150 members: 

84 enterprises of which 80% SMEs and 20% are 

major firms; 

21 research centres and 39 professional 

organisations and institutional partners; 

Over €49 million of public funding has been 

raised for Derbi projects, including €28 million 

from the National Research Agency. 

Contact: http://www.pole-derbi.cm 

One of the 71 state-certified clusters is the Derbi cluster, 

with the main aims of: 

Business field : energy; 

Main thematics: energy producing buildings, 

network management, decentralised energy 

producing. 

The objectives: 

Boost the creation of goods and services for 

markets which are developing rapidly thanks to 

the European directives on energy and the 

Mediterranean Solar Plan. 

Increase the expertise and critical size of 

sectorial skills in the region. 

Help the creation and organisation of the 

renewable energies industry in the region 

Make regional scientific and technological 

expertise available to companies, particularly 

SMEs. 

50 


The New Energy Sources Entrepreneurs’ 

Association - SunE, Bucharest-Ilfov, 

Romania 

This association was established in 2008 due to the 

increased interest of the business circles in the issues of 

renewable energy sources valorisation, and based in 

Bucharest. From the legal point of view, SunE is an 

entrepreneurs’ association established as a Romanian 

private legal person, non-governmental, non-political, and 

non-patrimony association. The Association is made up 

of 21 companies (mainly SME’s) with activities in the 

field. Situated in the hub of Romania’s business activity, 

the town brings together most of the companies involved 

in renewable energies. Nevertheless, our members are 

from other towns, as well. The first subsidiary of SunE 

was established in Pitesti, the region South-Muntenia. 

The Association has had and is now expanding its 

cooperation relationships with local energy agencies at 

the county level. It also has several Universities as 

partners. 

Impact indicators of the initiative 

Through its statute the association primarily aims at 

representing the interests of its members in promoting 

renewable energy sources and energy efficiency, 

supporting and protecting their interests in the 

relationships with the public authorities and other factors 

of interest. To achieve this, several national scientific and 

technical events have been held, as well as discussions 

with the government and national agencies and various 

public debates. 

Lessons learned: Useful information for the 

authorities 

Many of the renewable energy projects are carried out by 

large international companies (at least in Romania’s 

case), who have the financial power, technology and 

know-how, as well the considerable lobby capacity 

capable of influencing the synthesis and decision-making 

factors at the national level. Though, the development of 

small and medium size enterprises represents a sure 

way both for RES valorisation, and the overall economic 

development at the local level and should be supported 

by the local authorities. In order to ensure the small and 

medium size enterprise competitiveness they need to 

form professional associations able to represent their 

interests, ensure information dissemination, organise 

public events where they can present the issues relating 

to RES valorisation at the European, national and local 

levels, as well as the potential of the association 

members in tackling and solving these issues. The fact 

that the association includes renowned specialists in the 

field as individual members confers more consistency 

and credibility to the activities that are carried out by it. 

Overall project evaluation 

The association has organised the public debate of 

several legislative documents and drawn up observations 

and proposals for improving them. The association has 

organised or participated in the organisation of fairs, 

conferences, symposia dedicated to the promotion of 

renewable energies. A main place in the activity of the 

association is occupied by its activities for developing cooperation 

with public local authorities (county councils, 

municipalities. These activities mean that SunE can meet 

its other commitments, such as increasing visibility and 

monitoring the adherence to regulations by its members. 


51

Climate Change Wales, project to assist 

teachers and students in Wales. 

The work of the ECO Centre to increase the amount of 

small scale renewable energy generation in Wales is 

combined with setting the context of the growing need for 

sustainably produced energy. 

This starts with education in both the broad and narrow 

sense of the word. Our education projects aim to work 

with non-specialists in the community, and the next 

generation of householders to ensure that they 

understand the causes and impacts of climate change 

and how sustainable energy can make a contribution to 

mitigating these. We developed Climate Change Wales 

to provide resources for teachers and students to explore 

the causes and impacts of climate change in Wales, and 

to highlight what can be done on a local level. 

Hard Project Outcomes 

Employment of a Climate Change Project Officer; 

Climate Change Wales web resource; 

School and community workshops and talks; 

Climate change film for secondary schools; 

Training for teachers; 

Materials for the Welsh Assembly Government. 

Soft Project Outcomes 

Collaborative working relationships with other 

environmental NGOs. 

Network of practising teachers willing to 

contribute and review Climate Change Wales 

materials. 

Raised profile of West Wales ECO Centres 

education work. 

One of the main resources was the 

Climate Change Wales website, 

covering all four Key Stages, in a 

Welsh context, written by practising 

teachers, bilingual and covering a 

broad range of issues – including 

global poverty, bio-diversity and 

technological perspectives. Receiving 

up to 100 visits a day (a school will 

show up as only 1 visit). The most 

popular content has been the Flood 

maps, Bio-diversity content and 

primary content. The Message Tree 

and Graffiti Wall have received only 

occasional use. 

http://www.climatechangewales.org.uk/ 

Funding came from a number of sources, including both 

public (from the Welsh Assembly Sustainable 

Development Fund) and private (from TYF Ltd, under the 

1% for the Planet scheme). The project ran for 2 years 

from 2007 – 2009, and achieved the following main 

outcomes: 

School presentations received positive 

feedback, and it has become clear 

whilst working on this project that 

there are two distinct needs that need 

to be addressed in this type of work in school: energy 

saving tips and behaviour type activities, and in depth 

climate change and sustainability workshops 

A training day was provided to primary school teachers 

too, with over 30 schools attending, with positive 

feedback. The Education Business Partnership asked for 

a further 3 training days for secondary school teachers to 

be given too. 

52 


A Masters in “Management and Law in 

Renewable Energies and Sustainable 

Development” run at Strasbourg 

University, France. 

The Course: 

The University of Strasbourg is one of twelve French 

campus institutes to emerge from a French law on 

university freedoms and responsibilities enacted in 2007, 

with 42,260 students, 77 research units and 12 research 

councils. 

The Economic and Social Administration (EAS) course at 

the Faculty of Law, Political Science and Management in 

Strasbourg has always been distinctive for its 

multidisciplinary approach. The EAS architecture also 

makes it easier to match the content of teaching to 

sectorial expectations of professional skills and profiles, 

with an emphasis on encouraging entrepreneurial skills. 

The year is structured around 8 units, constituting 450 

hours of teaching and 60 ECTS credits. Students are 

admitted to this course either straight after an initial 

degree or by way of continuous education. 

Audit and Tests: 

Methods for testing knowledge are adapted to the 

disciplines taught. Further, A group project has to be 

presented to a jury, and a full report must be submitted, 

which has to describe the tools applied and the 

implementation of the project 

Innovative Teaching: 

The course in Management and Law of Energies and 

Sustainable Development uses innovative teaching 

methods. Students are introduced to ICT tools and must 

apply them. These include a collaborative wiki, and 

instruments for techno watch and acquiring business 

intelligence. 

In this educational approach, practising the application of 

ICT tools serves the creation of a professional network by 

encouraging collaborative efforts and promoting 

information processing and analysis. 

Contact: http://m2gedd.bio-ressources.com/ or 

http://www.unistra.fr 

The aim of the course is to train energy management 

specialists at a time when economic players are coming 

under pressure to consider sustainable development, and 

to contain their energy spending or improve their energy 

efficiency. 

The Framework: 

Students will gain first-hand experience of the work 

environment in different sectors, in order, firstly, to 

acquire the general, cross-sector skills required by jobs in 

energy and sustainable development, and secondly, to 

integrate into the professional world. In addition, they will 

develop methods for working in teams in innovative 

projects with the aid of ICT tools. Students must take a 

placement lasting 5 to 6 months, usually in a company, a 

legal practice, a local authority or a development agency. 

As students are familiarised with ICT tools, and in 

particular thanks to the wiki developed specifically for 

Management and Law in Renewable Energies and 

Sustainable Development, there are excellent 

opportunities to establish links between students in 

different streams and hence to encourage networking. 


53

Professional training provided by 

Coprotec in France 

Coprotec has company status but is linked to a public 

association, making it the fruit of an original publicprivate 

partnership. In its private activity, it equips all 

energy professionals with a set of tools enabling them to 

understand what is happening in the traditional and new 

energy markets. Coprotec was founded in 1993, and in 

2009 posted €4.5 million turnover, from 70 employees. 

900 trainee placements offered per annum, and 70,000 

expertise reports were made in 2009. 

The Training 

Changing technology calls for an ability to adapt well, and 

so Coprotec provides continuous training for 

professionals. Professionals can come to the Coprotec 

premises, where they can take a course in marketing, 

environmental regulation, or other more technical 

matters. Coprotec training also includes courses of a 

practical nature; the Coprotec site is equipped with a 

number of workshops for practical activities. The courses 

last two to three days on average and cost about €200 a 

day. 

Qualit’EnR validates the installation quality of renewable 

energy systems. Any company that obtains a “Qualit’” 

seal commits to respecting a 10-point charter, and all its 

installations are subject to random audits or following a 

complaint. 

The Support 

The outfit has created a tool that professionals can use at 

any time: online technical and regulatory support. It is 

provided by the private wing of Coprotec. There are 

many staff members able to answer questions relating to 

all kinds of energy installation. Providing this service to 

22,000 trade companies working in conventional 

energies, and 16,000 specialised in renewable synergies. 

Innovation 

State agencies, in particular the Department for 

Competitive Industry and Services, have invested in the 

structure, designating Coprotec a Centre of National 

Innovation for the Manual Trades in 1999. 

Three main aims regarding supporting small businesses, 

first, to facilitate technology transfer. Secondly, that the 

constraints of small businesses are taken into account 

with these resource centres. Thirdly, to share all this 

information with all members. 

A COPROTEC training session 

Lessons to learn from COPROTEC 

When the Kyoto Protocol came into effect, Coprotec’s 

potential clients felt the pressure to restructure in order to 

keep abreast of a market that promised explosive growth. 

The Coprotec structure was able to tap into the 

advantage of experience. Geographical proximity to the 

IUT at Colmar. Communication and certification are 

major features of Coprotec’s work. 

Contact: http:///www.coprotec-elearning.com/ and 

http://www.professionnels-energie.fr/ 

The Audit 

As we have seen, once a company is certified, it must be 

audited within the three years following the award of the 

seal. The skilled trader pays Qualit’EnR €250 net of tax 

for these audits. Qualit’EnR then pays about €200 to 

Coprotec to perform the audit. 

54 


Geothermal Energy in 

Hódmezővásárhely (Hungary) 

Hungary has a very long tradition of using geo-thermal 

energy largely for balneological use. However in the late 

1950s thermal waters started to be used for district 

heating and green house heating in the Szentes area. 

utility system is an insulated pipeline network that 

connects four housing projects of Hódmezővásárhely 

with individual district heating systems 

This is a system for domestic hot water supply. It 

supplies DHW for residential and public consumers 

equivalent to 3,000 flats, and 9 public institutions 

(hospital, bath etc.). 

The geothermal public utility system 

The construction of the geothermal public utility system 

was started in 1994 in a joint investment of the Financial 

Trust and Service Provider Co. of Hódmezővásárhely 

and a professional investor, and under the leadership of 

Geohód Kft. set up by the two parties in 1993. 

The project had two objectives. On the one hand, to 

replace the domestic hot water produced from cold 

drinking water with natural gas in the local district heating 

plants by utilizing the thermal water of 43-50°C 

extractable from a depth of 1000-1 300 metres. On the 

other hand, to replace the natural gas through the 

utilisation of the thermal water of 80°C extractable 

from a depth of 2000 metres (not requiring special 

treatment), and to reinject the unusable, cold fluid into 

layers close to the extraction layers. 

Accordingly, the investment consisted of two separate 

parts: a system for DHW, and a heating system. The 

project was realised in more phases, the DHW-well of 

Hódtó in 1994, the well for heating in 1996, the 

reinjection well No. I and the other DHW-well on 

Oldalkosár street - thus the complete first part of the 

geothermal public utility system – in 1998. The public 

Key statistics 

Prime cost of DHW approx. 70 – 80 HUF/m 3 (with 

traditional technology approx. 500 – 600 

HUF/m 3 ); 

Quantity of produced heating thermal water 

approx. 580,000 m3/year, quantity of reinjected 

water approx. 400,000 m3/year; 

Quantity of heat for thermal heating approx. 

65 000 GJ/year; 

Prime costs for production of thermal energy for 

heating (with reinjection) approx. 650 – 750 

HUF/GJ (with traditional, natural gas technology 

currently approx. 2,800 – 3,000 HUF/GJ); 

Quantity of natural gas replaced by heating and 

thermal DHW approx. 2,650 thousand m 3 /year; 

The simplified payback period of the project is 

approx. 6.5 - 7.5 years; 

80% of the primary heat demand of the town’s 

district heating system equivalent of 3,000 flats is 

supplied from local geothermal energy. 


55

56 


Chapter 6 

Key transfers and cooperation which have 

come out of the project 


57

After nearly three years of project work, it is possible to 

demonstrate how some forms of concrete transfer have 

taken place. This transfer can be divided into four 

different approaches: 

Transfer of renewable energy good practices, 

collected through the project from one partner 

region to another, in the case of RETS this is 

often in the deployment of a specific renewable 

energy technology or approach; 

Cooperation between the members of RETS with 

other networks and projects specialised in 

renewable energies; 

Development of an inter-regional cross border 

approach; 

Transfer and skills development through the 

deployment of web-based tools for joint 

collaboration. 

Transfer between partner regions 

One type of transfer that has been observed within the 

project is the transfer of good practice examples from 

region to another member of the project partnership. 

Notable examples can be found in the area of geothermal 

technologies, where the visit to the deep thermal site at 

Soultz-sous-forêts in Alsace stimulated the Hungarian 

partner Vecsés. Vecsés not only established close links 

with the Soultz plant manager and the French Economic 

Mission in Budapest on the feasibility of undertaking 

similar operations in their municipality, but more 

concretely they have undertaken a research feasibility 

study assessing the geothermal potential of their territory. 

Geothermal installation in Soultz-sous-Forêts, France 

Many of the study visits organised within the project to 

renewable energy experiences stimulated partners to 

exchange knowledge and expertise. For example: 

The Sittard-Geleen town engineer in the 

Netherlands spontaneously worked with Serta 

municipality on the optimisation of their biomass 

plant. 

The partner ENERGAP attempted to bring one of 

the innovative Quiet Revolution wind turbines 

seen in Wales to the Maribor municipality, 

although this finally was not possible due to the 

unavailability of maintenance services in 

Slovenia. 

Staffordshire University was particularly 

interested in deep water mining technology seen 

in the Netherlands, as the Staffordshire area has 

many similar old mining networks and 

consequently briefed local Members of 

Parliament after the visit. 

The Graz visit in Austria also proved particularly 

inspiring for the Sittard-Geleen team as it 

provides an interesting business model for their 

Green Net project. 

Vecsés throughout the project has developed 

activities on renewable energies and 

sustainability for its school children being inspired 

by the ECO centre Wales approach and an 

Educational Centre in Sittard-Geleen. This 

municipality is now carrying out a feasibility study 

for the establishment of a “Sustainable 

Development Education Centre” in Vecsés and 

has even received a grant of 1.5 M HUF (approx. 

5.300 EUR) from the 

company HungaroControll for 

its realisation. 

ENERGAP has also 

found educational ideas and 

approaches during the 

dedicated seminar on 

education that took place in 

Vecsés during Spring 2012, 

and has now integrated them 

into the education programme 

“polygon” that is implemented 

in the Podravje region of 

Slovenia. 

Two of the project 

partners Serta and Pinhel have indeed signed the 

Covenant of Mayors initiative during the project. 

58 


The implementation of a renewable energy project is 

complex, requiring key skills, and above all high levels of 

finance, negotiation of planning systems and the political 

process. It therefore takes time to develop such an 

investment and as a consequence the 36 month duration 

of RETS is too short to see renewable energy 

infrastructure projects deployed in this timescale. 

Renewable energy types of projects are developed on a 

more medium to long term timescale. 

Extended networks in renewable 

energies 

Another area of cooperation that has been very 

successful within the RETS project is that of collaboration 

with other projects and networks. 

Successful cooperation has been developed with the 

INTERREG IVC project RENREN (Renewable Energy 

Regions Network www.renren-project.eu) managed by 

the Schleswig-Holstein regional government. RENREN 

is particularly complimentary to the RETS approach 

focusing on policy measures at the regional level. 

difficulties exporting their experiences to their 

Slovenian neighbours. 

The Northern Portuguese and Spanish border 

zone (Beira Interior Norte – Salamanca). The 

RETS partner Pinhel is part of a mixed publicprivate 

association working in the area of energy 

optimisation. 

The Danish German Region. Study visits of good 

practices collected through the INTERREG IVA 

Furgy project, where the level of cooperation and 

exchange is optimal. 

All this work in the cross-border domain requires further 

support and stimulation. In particular, it reveals the 

problem of feed in tariffs, normally linked to national 

legislation, which is problematic in a cross-border 

territory. 

As a result of this work in extending the RETS network, 

RETS, RENREN and IMEDER are planning a joint 

seminar in November 2012 allowing their different 

members to discover, exchange, and build on 

renewable energy experiences and practices. It is 

hoped through this networking event, new projects and 

initiatives can be born. 

Inter-regional cross-border approach 

An interesting outcome of the project that was not 

originally planned is the reinforcement of an inter-regional 

cross-border approach. Due to the geographic situation 

of some of the partners in the consortium, and illustrated 

through the study visits, the implementation of RES in 

four cross-border zones has been investigated. 

The French-German Upper Rhine area. Strategic 

work on energy planning in a cross-border zone 

has been instigated by PAMINA and the French 

national organisation the MOT (Mission 

Opérationnelle Transfrontalière). The RETS 

project was asked to share and exchange good 

practices and planning advice resulting from the 

project. 

The Austrian – Slovenian region. The town of 

Gussing has established good practices in 

sustainability and renewables, however there are 

RETS project word cloud 

Web 2.0 collaborative tools 

From the beginning of the project, a project wiki was 

developed both as a platform for the project management 

and a canvas for joint project work. While some of the 

partners had some experience in the use of web 2.0 

tools, many including most of the local authorities had 

relatively little. Step by step through the project they 

gained in skills and confidence contributing to all the 

collaborative project work. 

Through the different project activities the wiki now 

contains an immense tool box of information and raw 


59

educational material. Some of this structured information 

has been opened up to a wider audience, with the 

possibility for external actors to become a member of the 

wiki an in turn benefit from the knowledge. The other raw 

information should be enhanced and valorised according 

to different targets audiences, such as in the educational 

field, perhaps through a future project. 

A competitive intelligence business watch tool was 

also developed. This tool, in the first place, was 

dedicated for the expert project partners. A specialised 

data mining software was installed that according to 

predefined keywords and sources, crawled the web, 

reaping information and news on renewable energies. 

The expert partners then sorted, rated and selected 

information that could be beneficial to local authorities. In 

a second stage, electronic newsletters dedicated to 

specific renewable energy technologies or themes were 

compiled and sent to the local authority partners. 

This innovative approach to knowledge management and 

capitalisation experimented in the project through the use 

of web 2.0 collaborative tools has been adopted by 

several partners: 

ECO Centre Wales for example, is very 

interested in developing a dedicated version for 

use within schools, where pupils are often 

hindered by firewalls and internal security 

measures. 

Sittard-Geleen is in the process of disseminating 

the approach more widely within its region, and in 

particular will organise a dedicated seminar in 

Autumn 2012 for other local authorities and 

students. 

Staffordshire University have adopted it as an 

approach with partners on another energy 

project. 

RETS project wiki: http://www.rets-community.eu 

60 


Chapter 7 

Recommendations 


61

Key Recommendations: 

1. Stability of Market Mechanisms 

Inconsistencies and constant change of economic 

measures such as national feed-in-tariff mechanisms 

destabilises progress with implementation of renewable 

energy technology and interferes with projects and 

developments. It was recommended that at a European 

level stability of feed-in-tariff systems and other 

market mechanisms needs to be addressed. 

2. Finance - Green Loans 

Local consortiums should be created to develop green 

loan schemes supported with a guarantee from the local 

authority so as to facilitate shared responsibility. It was 

recommended that local authorities support schemes 

to develop green loans and act as guarantors. 

3. Retrofit of Buildings 

One of the greatest areas of energy inefficiency was 

identified to be in established and historic building stock, 

particularly within the rental sector. Therefore, it was 

recommended that partnerships involving local 

authorities, social landlords, housing associations 

and tenants be developed to focus on the retrofit of 

existing housing stock. 

4. Energy Bookkeeping Method & 

Plans 

There was an identified need to properly audit energy 

efficiency in local areas and buildings. To fully explore 

the applicability of the full range of renewable energy 

technology available, it was necessary to carry out 

baseline energy efficiency audits to facilitate assessment 

of the energy demand and the measures necessary to 

reduce required capacity on a house-to-house basis. 

Following the completion of energy auditing and 

bookkeeping, the results should be used to inform and 

develop a detailed and localised energy plan with specific 

long-term plans for local areas and municipalities. 

Therefore, it was recommended that an energy 

bookkeeping method be developed to train 

individuals, particularly those out of work, to conduct 

individual reviews adopting a house to house 

approach. 

5. Purchase Agreements 

The cost of renewable energy technology can often be 

prohibitive to individuals in local areas, whereas 

considerable buying power can be achieved when groups 

of individuals form social and co-operative arrangements 

between themselves or with local authorities and other 

stakeholders. It was recommended that local authorities 

support and provide information to residents on 

creating purchase agreements to enhance buying 

power and achieve more competitive pricing. 

6. Partnerships 

Financial incentives through lower local taxes could be 

applied to private sector and independent agency 

stakeholders who develop energy efficient practices and 

also create 'green' jobs. It was recommended that local 

authorities develop local tax incentives to encourage 

green growth and entrepreneurship. 

7. Local Taxes 

Municipal taxes should be assessed and displayed so as 

to show the true environmental cost of energy wastage 

and also the benefits accrued by implementation of 

energy saving measures. It was recommended that local 

authorities develop systems to show environmental 

costs and potential savings on local taxation forms 

and paperwork. 

8. Promotion of Educational 

Schemes 

Many barriers to implementation of renewable energy 

arise through lack of educational awareness about local 

impacts of climate change, energy inefficiency and the 

capacity and value of renewable energy technology. It 

was recognised that there is often conflicting and 

confusing advice in relation to energy efficiency 

measures. Often such advice is provided by private 

companies with a specific renewable energy agenda. It 

was recommended that local authorities create a free, 

unbiased local energy advice service to advise local 

inhabitants as to the most appropriate measures to 

be taken for energy efficiency and implementation of 

renewable energy technology. 

62 


9. Development of Local 

Acceptance of RE 

Reluctance and uncertainty on the part of local 

stakeholders continues to be a barrier to the effective 

implementation of renewable energy in many areas. 

Local authorities need to help with the dissemination of 

common materials to support information campaigns. It 

was recommended that local authorities use a variety 

of media, namely the internet, fairs and exhibitions 

along with social media to facilitate greater local 

acceptable of renewable energy. 

10. Skills and Education 

There is a clear need to identify training and skills 

requirements and to develop an appropriate response. 

Students can be utilised to deliver basic educational 

issues within the field as universities are often more 

linked to relevant fields of research and equipped to 

respond to knowledge transfer initiatives. They are also 

equipped to offer and develop appropriate vocational 

training. It was recommended that local authorities 

work in close partnership with colleges and 

universities to identify and develop appropriate 

training packages and support professional 

development within the field. 

12. Co-operation with Local 

Authorities and Local Energy 

Authorities 

There needs to be greater co-operation between local 

authorities and local energy authorities to facilitate 

partnership working with local owners and tenants. In 

particular, this would allow greater collaboration and 

encourage tenants to work with landlords to develop 

solutions to energy inefficiencies within rented housing 

stock. It was recommended that local authorities and 

energy agencies work together co-operatively to 

encourage greater public engagement with energy 

efficiency and renewable energy technology. 

11. Local Authorities, Enterprise and 

Regional/European Participants 

Local authorities should work co-operatively together to 

share information and also engage effectively with 

enterprise and regional/national bodies. Local authorities 

can work more strongly if they join together on specific 

issues and communicate this more effectively to the 

regional and national level. Local authorities should 

operate to guide the private sector as to how they can 

contribute to achieving the 2020 goals of the Renewable 

Energy Directive and EU policy within this field. It was 

recommended that local authorities look at ways to 

work in partnership to facilitate greater regional and 

national presence in renewable energy dialogue and 

debate. 


63

64 


Chapter 8 

Conclusions 


65

The RETS project grew out of a local initiative to 

stimulate renewable energy take-up in Northern Alsace: 

PEREN. The PEREN project ran from 2006 to 2010, and 

included an innovative approach to clustering bringing 

together more than 35 committed partners (companies, 

farms, cooperatives, associations and local authorities), 

aiming to encourage the emergence and 

implementation of new projects and actions in 

renewables on a local level. The Association ADEC was 

a founding member of this project. 

With its long experience in the creation and deployment 

of information technologies, its key objective in PEREN 

was to show how information technologies could be 

put at the service of a sector such as renewable 

energy. ADEC therefore set up a collaborative IT 

platform that could monitor strategic and technological 

developments in RES and detect, develop, implement 

and support new renewable projects in the local area. 

From 2008 ADEC was keen to carry PEREN forward 

onto an European level and the idea of RETS was born. 

Finding a framework, for this new project was not difficult 

as the tools (good practice exchange, study visits, 

seminars) available through the INTERREG IVC 

interregional cooperation programme seemed the ideal 

support. Indeed, the possibility of using an innovative 

approach in the project, such as the RETS idea to 

collaborate using web 2.0 technologies (a wiki and 

competitive intelligence platform) was welcomed. 

The INTERREG IVC programme encourages projects to 

be made up of public authority partners. They are 

supposed to be the main beneficiaries of the programme 

and obviously if they are project partners they will gain 

benefits. RETS however deliberately chose at the 

beginning to have a mixed partnership bringing together 

small local authorities, with recognised expert 

partners from academia, research institutes, specialised 

agencies and the third sector. Mixing the typology of 

partners in the project has enormous advantages. 

On the one hand, local authority partners, particularly 

small ones, do not always have the capacity or internal 

staff skills, the language skills (English is not always 

mastered with ease) or the time to develop certain types 

of project activities. Moreover, it is not necessarily a good 

idea to ask them to carry out research style activities: it is 

not their job. 

On the other hand, experts in renewable energies or 

specialists in economic development do have research 

and technical skills. Not only do they guarantee the 

scientific exactitude of the activities, they drive the 

realisation of the deliverables and they are able to 

process information to make it practical and 

understandable for the local authority partners. Having 

these expert partners directly involved, and not just as 

subcontractors for specific activities, really helps the 

project dynamic. 

It is also important to note that as coordinator of RETS, 

ADEC chose to put at the disposal of the project a 

complete internal management team that goes over 

and above the INTERREG recommendations in this area. 

In addition to the dedicated project manager and financial 

manager, RETS has a project coordinator with specific 

skills and understanding in the project content 

(renewable energies), a technical manager to give 

support and manage the collaborative tools, and a 

specialist in competitive intelligence. This structured 

management team could be seen as one of the reasons 

for RETS success in delivering the project objectives and 

federating the partners. 

RETS is also different, because the collaborative tools 

are an integral part of the project: they help the project 

partners, in particular the small local authorities, to 

develop their renewable agenda because they are 

participative and not passive such as an email. The 

partners must connect to access information, and they 

are encouraged to modify and develop the content. 

66 


However for cooperation to work on line the group 

interacting needs to be comfortable with one 

another. In another deliberate management decision, it 

was decided to organise right at the beginning of the 

project several physical group meetings. As a result, after 

the kick-off meeting in Serta, Portugal in early February 

2010, a three-day study visit to the Upper Rhine (France/ 

Germany) in April 2010 and a three-day study visit to 

West Wales (United Kingdom) in July 2010, there was 

real cohesion within the project group. 

It is consequently much easier to discuss and work 

together online and at distance. Therefore the project 

wiki grew in importance, becoming a real platform for 

exchange. 

The RETS project wiki (rets-community.eu) is used for 

both project management and for the implementation of 

the project tasks. Dedicated sections are created for 

each activity, whether it be for good practice collection, 

the seminar tool box, RESPedia, project communication, 

or meeting information, and different levels of access to 

the content are provided. Partners do collaborate 

together using this tool. 

The project has had particular success in drafting 

together the quarterly project newsletter, each partner 

adding their specific text, photos and images to one 

dedicated page in the wiki. Through its innovative online 

approach, the RETS wiki has therefore become a real 

knowledge management system, facilitating the project 

management, and the production and dissemination 

of the outputs and results. 

Students/future teachers participate in a project on 

renewable energy. They are building a small windmill. 

Nederlands. 

After three intensive years working together what are the 

results and outcomes of the RETS project? Has RETS 

achieved its objective of being a Renewable Energy 

Transfer System? The project partners have been 

confronted with a mass of information on renewables 

throughout the project, including more than 59 good 

practices, 37 on site visits, 181 presentations during 

the conferences and seminars 21 : 

RETS information by type of renewable technology 

Solar 

Wind Biomass Geothermal Hydromarine 

Waste 

Good practices 32 18 28 17 10 5 

On site visits 17 7 13 8 5 6 

Presentations 98 75 90 49 56 31 

RESPedia 19 15 21 8 11 7 

Total 166 115 152 82 82 49 

21 Statistics on project collected until 01/09/2012. Some 

items are counted in several categories in the tables 

below, e.g. a visit covers both solar and wind. 


67

RETS information by type of intervention 

Business 

support 

Community 

energy 

Local 

authorities 

Planning 

and 

policy 

Training and 

accreditation 

Good 

practices 

12 39 42 21 8 

On site visits 6 15 23 10 12 

Presentations 26 52 67 108 52 

RESPedia 12 1 13 15 19 

Total 56 107 145 154 92 

Moreover, in addition to the project partners, the RETS 

events have drawn more than 2500 participants. 

However, the real success of RETS is the way that all of 

the partners have managed to develop together a 

common process for renewable energy information 

management collecting, processing, transforming, 

assimilating and disseminating information on 

renewables. The RETS way of thinking and working is 

especially beneficial to the small local authorities, giving 

them a framework, ideas and skills for them to develop 

their own renewable energy projects. Real affinities have 

developed between the project partners. The members of 

the consortium enjoy coming together for the different 

meetings and it is rare for an organisation to be absent. 

However, the force of RETS is to give its participants the 

opportunity to see how even a small renewable 

implementation matters. Collectively, a real critical 

mass is being obtained and it is possible to see that an 

“energy turnaround” is tangible. The RETS partners are 

part of the development of this new European 

consciousness. The sharing of bottom-up renewable 

energy practices can stimulate a sense of belonging to 

a common European vision and territory. It is now 

important to continue this sharing and exchanging so 

that others can capitalise from the RETS experience. 

This dynamic on the project level can also be seen on the 

European level. The project, through its activities, is 

witness to a mass of experimentation in renewable 

energy within Europe: implementation on a small and 

large scale, by local authorities, regions, companies, 

local communities, within education. Taken individually, 

these practices may appear to have small impacts, how 

can a farmer who produces biogas in a rural area of 

Europe help reach the EU 2020 targets? 

68 


Appendices 


69

Partner links 

ADEC - Association pour le Développement des 

Entreprises et des Compétences - Association for the 

Development of Entreprises and Competences, 

(FRANCE) 

http://www.adec.fr 

Câmara Municipal da Sertã - Sertã Town Council, 

(PORTUGAL) 

http://www.cm-serta.pt 

Município de Pinhel - Pinhel town council, (PORTUGAL) 

http://www.cm-pinhel.pt 

IESR - Institute for Environment, Sustainability and 

Regeneration, Staffordshire University, (UNITED 

KINGDOM) 

http://www.staffs.ac.uk/iesr 

Eco Centre Wales, (UNITED KINGDOM) 

http://www.ecocentre.org.uk 

IHK Zetis GmbH - Zentrum für Technologie- und 

Innovationsberatung Südwest - Center for technologyand 

innovation consulting South-West, (GERMANY) 

http://www.zetis.de 

Ville de Pézenas - Pézenas city, (FRANCE) 

http://www.ville-pezenas.fr 

Gemeente Sittard-Geleen - City of Sittard-Geleen, 

(NETHERLANDS) 

http://www.sittard-geleen.nl 

ENERGAP - Energetska agencija za Podravje - zavod za 

trajnostno rabo energije - Energy agency of Podravje - 

institution for sustainable energy use, (SLOVENIA) 

http://www.energap.si 

Institutul de Cercetari si Modernizari 

Energetice Icemenerg Bucuresti - Energy Research and 

Modernizing Institute Icemenerg Bucharest, (ROMANIA) 

http://www.icemenerg.ro 

Provincia di Varese - Province of Varese, (ITALY) 

http://www.provincia.va.it 

Vecsés Város Önkormányzata - Town of VECSÉS, 

HUNGARY) 

http://www.vecses.hu 

RETS links 

RETS Website - http://www.rets-project.eu 

RETS Community - http://www.rets-community.eu 

INTERREG IVC Programme – http://www.interreg4c.eu 

Useful EU links 

General information 

International: 

International Energy Agency (IEA) 

http://www.iea.org 

Renewable Energy Jobs 

http://www.renewableenergyjobs.com 

Europe: 

Energy in Europe 

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/energy/index_en.htm 

Energy Strategy for Europe 

http://ec.europa.eu/energy/index_en.htm 

Energy efficiency 

http://ec.europa.eu/energy/efficiency/index_en.htm 

Trans-European Networks 

http://ec.europa.eu/ten/index_en.html 

SETIS - Strategic Energy Technology Information 

System 

http://setis.ec.europa.eu/http://setis.ec.europa.eu 

7th Framework Programme: 

Cordis 

http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/home_en.html 

Energy Research in the 7th framework programme 

http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/energy/home_en.html 

News and Events/ Energy Research/ European 

Commission 

http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/eu/news/index_en.cfm 

70 


Europa, Summaries of EU Legislation: 

Energy 

http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/energy/index_en. 

htm 

Energy - Renewable energy 

http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/energy/renewable 

_energy/index_en.htm 

Energy - Energy Efficiency 

http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/energy/energy_ef 

ficiency/index_en.htm 

Initiatives/ Networks/ Observatories 

CONCERTO - Energy solutions for smart cities and 

communities - http://concertoplus.eu 

Covenant of Mayors 

http://www.eumayors.eu 

EIONET - European Environment Information and 

Observation Network - http://www.eionet.europa.eu 

L'observatoire des Energies Renouvelables - 

http://www.eurobserv-er.org/ 

ManagEnergy - http://www.managenergy.net 

SUSTENERGY - Sustainable Energy Europe Campaign - 

http://www.sustenergy.org 

Sustainable Energy Week - http://eusew.eu/ 

EUBIA - European Biomass Industry Association - 

http://www.eubia.org 

EUREC Agency - European Renewable Energy 

Research Centres Agency - http://www.eurec.be/en 

EWEA - European Wind Energy Association - 

http://www.ewea.org 

European Technology Platforms 

European Biofuels 

http://www.biofuelstp.eu 

European Technology Platform for Electricity Networks of 

the Future - SmartGrids ETP 

http://www.smartgrids.eu 

European Wind Energy Technology Platform 

http://www.windplatform.eu 

Forest-based Sector Technology Platform 

http://www.forestplatform.org 

Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) 

http://www.fch-ju.eu 

European Photovoltaic Technology Platform 

http://www.eupvplatform.org 

European Technology Platform for Sustainable 

Chemistry 

http://www.suschem.org/ 

European Associations 

AEBIOM - European Biomass Association - 

http://www.aebiom.org/ 

EGEC - European Geothermal Energy Council - 

http://www.egec.org 

EPIA - European Photovoltaic Industry Association - 

http://www.epia.org 

EREC - European Renewable Energy Council - 

http://www.erec.org 

ESHA - European Small Hydro 

power Association - http://www.esha.be 

ESTIF - European Solar Thermal Industry Federation - 

http://www.estif.org 


71

Best Practices project links 

Best Practices in this Compendium 

Local authority buildings 

Municipal Swimming Pool in Sertã, Portugal 

http://www.cm-serta.pt 

Biomass Energy Plant, Vatra Dornei, Suceava County, 

North–East Region, Romania 

http://www.primariasv.ro 

The RE-Charge Scheme, Kirklees Metropolitan Council, 

UK 

http://www.kirklees gov.uk 

Primary school photovoltaic Installation in Municipality of 

Selnica ob Dravi, NE Slovenia 

http://www.selnica.si 

Training and education 

Climate Change, Energy Education for non-specialists - 

Wales, UK: 

http://www.climatechangewales.org.uk 

http://www.ecocentre.org.uk/en/education/climart 

GEDD - master degree for energy law and management, 

University of Strasbourg, Alsace, France: 

http://m2gedd.bio-ressources.com 

http://www-faculte-droit.u-strasbg.fr/index.php?id=1468 

COPROTEC professional training, France 

http://www.professionnels-energie.fr 

Private sector encouragement 

DERBI Competitiveness cluster for renewable energy, 

France- http://www.pole-derbi.com 

The New Energy Sources Entrepreneurs' Association 

SunE, Bucharest-Ilfov Region, Romania 

http://www.sune.ro 

GreenNet, Limburg, The Netherlands 

http://www.hetgroenenet.nl 

Community owned schemes 

Zero-Emission-Village Weilerbach Union Community, 

Germany: 

http://www.weilerbach.de 

http://www.zero-emission-village.de 

Local planning policy 

Cross the Border Energetic Optimisation Plan 

Optimisation and MUNIEnergy in Pinhel, Portugal 

http://www.amcb.pt/index.php?option=com_content&task 

=view&id=11 

100% of the power needs from renewable sources by 

2017 - direct purchase of power from wind energy, 

Association of Municipalities Wörrstadt, Rhineland- 

Palatinate, Germany 

http://www.vgwoerrstadt.de/ 

The installation of a photovoltaic solar power plant onto 

the Fritz Walter World Cup Football Stadium in 

Kaiserslautern, Germany 

http://www.kaiserslautern.de/ 

All the Good Practices 

RETS Project has collected 57 good practices, between 

its 12 partners. 

Not all of them are published in this compendium. 

Read more about all the good practices on: 

The wiki - http://www.retscommunity.eu/Community/Best_practices/Master_list_of_ 

Best_Practice_Case_Studies 

The website - http://www.rets-project.eu/en/goodpractice/ 

Links in RESpedia 

RESpedia is the Renewable Energies Systems 

encyclopedia. It is designed by experts for local 

authorities. 

Within the RETS project, over three years of work, 85 

articles were produced. 

All the articles are available on the wiki - http://www.retscommunity.eu/Community/RESpedia 

25 articles selected from the 85 are published on RETS 

website - http://www.rets-project.eu/en/respedia/ 

These selected articles are available in 9 different 

languages: DE, EN, FR, HU, IT, NL, PT, RO, and SL. 

72 


Other reports and 

information 

About local decision-making 

Bernd Hirschl, Astrid Aretz, Andreas Prahl, Timo Böther, 

Katharina Heinbach, Daniel Pick, Simon Funcke (Institut 

für ökologische Wirtschaftsforschung (IÖW) , in 

Kooperation mit dem Zentrum für Erneuerbare Energien 

(ZEE): Kommunale Wertschöpfung durch Erneuerbare 

Energien, Berlin Germany 2010 

http://www.ioew.de/uploads/tx_ukioewdb/IOEW_SR_196 

_Kommunale_Wertsch%C3%B6pfung_durch_Erneuerba 

re_Energien.pdf 

Institute for Futures Studies and Technology Assessment 

(IZT) GmbH, Erneuerbare Energien in Kommunen 

optimal nutzen – Denkanstöße für die Praxis, October 

2007 

Oscar W. Gabriel, Die EU-Staaten im Vergleich – 

Strukturen, Prozesse, Politikinhalte, 3rd Edition, July 

2008 

About jobs 

Boosting growth and jobs by meeting our climate change 

commitments 

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference 

=IP/08/80&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLa 

nguage=en 

Jobs in Renewable Energy Expanding: 

http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5821 

Professional qualification in the renewable energies 

sector: http://www.erneuerbareenergien.de/inhalt/42760/42760/ 

'Green jobs' on the increase: 

http://www.euractiv.com/sustainability/green-jobsincrease/article-174209 

About social acceptance 

Task 28, Social Acceptance of Wind Energy Projects: 

http://www.socialacceptance.ch/ 

Akzeptanz Erneuerbarer Energien: http://www-e.unimagdeburg.de/upsy/akzeptanz/index.php 

Public Acceptance of Renewable Energy - A series of 

workshops in Germany: http://www.ecologicevents.de/erneuerbare-energien/en/index.htm 

http://www.esteem-tool.eu/ ESTEEM is a set of tools 

organised in a process. Following the process and 

applying it to your project will help you identify potential 

social acceptance problems and assist you in searching 

for solutions. 

http://www.createacceptance.net/ Create Acceptance 

aims to improve the conditions for renewable energy 

technologies (RET) and technologies for rational use of 

energy (RUE) by developing a tool for assessing and 

promoting the social acceptance of such technologies. 

http://www.erneuerbare-energien.de/inhalt/42849/42759/, 

zugegriffen am 02.12.2011 

Institut für Zukunftsstudien und Technologiebewertung 

gGmbH , 2007, Verbundforschungsprojekt „Akzeptanz 

und Strategien für den Ausbau Erneuerbarer Energien 

auf kommunaler und regionaler Ebene“ 

Agentur für erneuerbare Energien e.V., Berlin, 2011, 

Hintergrundinformationen, Hohe Akzeptanz für 

erneuerbare Energien – auch vor der eigenen Haustür? 

Forschungsgruppe Umweltpsychologie, Prof. Dr. Petra 

Schweizer-Ries, 2010, Projektabschlussbericht „Aktivität 

und Teilhabe – Akzeptanz Erneuerbarer Energien durch 

Beteiligung steigern“ 

http://www.irees.de/team/cv_koewener-en.html 

Dr. Dirk Köwener, So rechnen Sie richtig! 

Bewertungsverfahren für Investitionsentscheidungen, 

2008, IREES GmbH, Karlsruhe 

E-Mail: d.koewener@irees.de 


73

A Quick Guide to Units 

Energy 

kWh – energy output in kilowatt-hours (i.e. thousands 

of watt-hours) 

MWh – energy output in Megawatt-hours (i.e. kWh x 

1000) 

GWh – energy output in Gigawatt-hours (i.e. MWh x 

1000) 

TWh - energy output in Terawatt-hours (i.e. GWh x 

1000) 

ktoe – kilotonnes of oil equivalent 

(A large energy unit often used with solid and liquid 

fuels: 1 ktoe = 11.63 million kWh) 

Power – a rate of energy transfer 

kW – power transfer in kilowatts (i.e. thousands of 

watts) 

MW – power transfer in megawatts (i.e. millions of 

watts or kW x 1000) 

Subscripts 

e – electrical 

peak – Peak value for a device whose output can vary 

e.g. a wind turbine or PV array. 

th – thermal 

Mtoe – megatonnes of oil equivalent (i.e. ktoe x 

1000) 

74 


Photo credits 

Members of RETS consortium unless otherwise stated. 

Contributors to the 

compendium 

Jon Fairburn, Ruby Hammer, Markus Bauer, Neil Packer, 

Catherine Ledig, Alison Garnier-Rivers, Emmanuel 

Jacquet, Marthe Soncourt. 


75

Table of figures 

Figure 1: Elements of a strategic local authority energy policy ______________________________________ 14 

Figure 2: Sales in the RES sector _____________________________________________________________ 17 

Figure 3 : Jobs in the RES sector in 2009 _______________________________________________________ 17 

Figure 4: Key ingredients of local value added source: Institut für ökologische Wirtschaftsforschung (IÖW), 

Berlin __________________________________________________________________________________ 19 

Figure 5 : Shares of nationwide installed capacity for electricity generation from renewable energy installations 

in 2010 in Germany (53,000 MW) ____________________________________________________________ 20 

Figure 6: Renewable technology sector employment (direct and indirect) accross Europe (2010) __________ 26 

Figure 7: Renewable energy technology sector turnover across Europe, 2010 _________________________ 26 

76 


Detailed table of contents 

CHAPTER 1 THE REGULATORY POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR PROMOTING RENEWABLE ENERGIES IN EUROPE .......................... 3 

PART ONE: EUROPEAN POLICY ON PROMOTING RENEWABLE ENERGIES ...................................................................................................................... 4 

EUROPEAN ENERGY POLICY ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 

SECURE ENERGY .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 

COMPETITIVE ENERGY ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 4 

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 5 

PART TWO: PROMOTING RENEWABLE ENERGIES ....................................................................................................................................................... 5 

STRATEGIC GUIDELINES ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 

SUPPORTING MEASURES.......................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 

Tax incentives ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 

Research and innovation ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 

Future financial instruments – Horizon 2020 ....................................................................................................................................................... 6 

State aid ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 

KEY LINKS .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 7 

CHAPTER 2 LOCAL POLITICAL DECISION-MAKING FOR RETS ................................................................................................................ 9 

POLITICAL STRUCTURE / DEVOLUTION OF POWER ..................................................................................................................................................... 10 

Structural principles of local politics in the 27 EU countries .............................................................................................................................. 10 

LOCAL AUTHORITY ENERGY POLICY AND STRATEGIES ............................................................................................................................................... 11 

Advantages for local authorities......................................................................................................................................................................... 11 

Strategic local authority energy policy ............................................................................................................................................................... 13 

Local inter-district cooperation ........................................................................................................................................................................... 15 

ENVIRONMENTAL................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15 

ECONOMIC & EMPLOYMENT ISSUES........................................................................................................................................................................ 15 

Socio-economic aspects of renewable energies in the EU ............................................................................................................................... 16 

Professional qualifications and accreditation in the renewable energies sector ............................................................................................... 17 

SOCIAL................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 18 

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT/LOCAL NETWORKS .................................................................................................................................................... 19 

Main obstacles to the sustainable development of renewable energies ........................................................................................................... 19 

SOCIAL / LOCAL ACCEPTANCE................................................................................................................................................................................ 20 

Renewable energy systems in private hands .................................................................................................................................................... 20 

TOOLKIT AND EVALUATION PROCEDURE FOR INVESTMENT DECISIONS ........................................................................................................................ 21 


77

CHAPTER 3 RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY SECTORS ............................................................................................................... 25 

OVERVIEW............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 26 

SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC TECHNOLOGY ..................................................................................................................................................................... 27 

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 27 

EU resource assessment ................................................................................................................................................................................... 27 

Employment, market development and generating capacity ............................................................................................................................ 27 

Research, development and demonstration in the EU ...................................................................................................................................... 27 

SOLAR THERMAL TECHNOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................................................. 28 

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 28 




SOLID BIOMASS TECHNOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................................................... 28 

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 29 




OFFSHORE/ONSHORE WIND TECHNOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................................. 30 

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 30 




RENEWABLE MUNICIPAL WASTE TECHNOLOGY ....................................................................................................................................................... 32 

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 32 




SMALL SCALE HYDRO TECHNOLOGIES.................................................................................................................................................................... 33 

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 33 




GEOTHERMAL AND GROUND SOURCE HEAT PUMP TECHNOLOGIES .......................................................................................................................... 34 

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 34 




BIOMASS SOURCED LIQUID AND GASEOUS FUELS ..................................................................................................................................................... 36 

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 36 


78 




SOURCES OF INFORMATION ................................................................................................................................................................................... 37 

General............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 37 

Solar PV ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 37 

Solar thermal ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 37 

Wind ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 37 

Solid biomass ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 37 

Renewable Municipal waste .............................................................................................................................................................................. 37 

Geothermal and Ground Source Heat Pumps .................................................................................................................................................. 37 

Small Hydro ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 37 

Liquid and Gaseous Biofuels ............................................................................................................................................................................. 37 

CHAPTER 4 TYPES OF INTERVENTION AT THE LOCAL LEVEL .............................................................................................................. 39 

LOCAL AUTHORITIES MAKING USE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY TECHNIQUES IN THEIR OWN BUILDINGS. ......................................... 40 

COMMUNITY OWNED ENERGY SCHEMES .................................................................................................................................................................. 40 

LOCAL AUTHORITY PLANNING AND PROCUREMENT POLICIES...................................................................................................................................... 40 

PRIVATE SECTOR SUPPORT SCHEMES ..................................................................................................................................................................... 41 

TRAINING, ACCREDITATION AND EDUCATION SCHEMES ............................................................................................................................................. 41 

CHAPTER 5 BEST PRACTICES .................................................................................................................................................................... 43 

A SCHEME FOR SOCIAL HOUSING IN KIRKLEES, UK .................................................................................................................................................. 44 

A LOW IMPACT NURSERY BUILDING IN CUVEGLIO, ITALY ............................................................................................................................................ 45 

Background: ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 45 

Description of Systems: ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 45 

Energy analysis: ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 45 

Closing Note: ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 45 

THE ZERO EMISSION VILLAGE IN WEILERBACH ........................................................................................................................................................ 46 

ASSOCIATION OF MUNICIPALITIES OF COVE AD BEIRA, WITH PINHEL, PORTUGAL ....................................................................................................... 47 

ENERGY MANAGEMENT TOOL FOR THE MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS OF MARIBOR, SLOVENIA ............................................................................................... 48 

A MUNICIPAL SWIMMING POOL IN SERTÃ, PORTUGAL ................................................................................................................................................ 50 

MORBACH ENERGY LANDSCAPE IN RHINELAND-PALATINATE, GERMANY ................................................................................................................... 51 

THE GREEN-NET PROJECT OF SITTARD-GELEEN, NETHERLANDS ............................................................................................................................. 52 

Overview ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 52 


79

POLE OF COMPETITIVENESS DERBI, LANGUEDOC ROUSSILLON, FRANCE ................................................................................................................... 53 

THE NEW ENERGY SOURCES ENTREPRENEURS’ ASSOCIATION - SUNE, BUCHAREST-ILFOV, ROMANIA ....................................................................... 54 

Impact indicators of the initiative........................................................................................................................................................................ 54 

Lessons learned: Useful information for the authorities .................................................................................................................................... 54 

Overall project evaluation .................................................................................................................................................................................. 54 

CLIMATE CHANGE WALES, PROJECT TO ASSIST TEACHERS AND STUDENTS IN WALES. ................................................................................................ 55 

Hard Project Outcomes...................................................................................................................................................................................... 55 

Soft Project Outcomes ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 55 

A MASTERS IN “MANAGEMENT AND LAW IN RENEWABLE ENERGIES AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT” RUN AT STRASBOURG UNIVERSITY, FRANCE...... 56 

The Course: ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 56 

The Framework: ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 56 

Audit and Tests: ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 56 

Innovative Teaching: .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 56 

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING PROVIDED BY COPROTEC IN FRANCE ................................................................................................................................ 57 

The Training ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 57 

The Support ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 57 

The Audit ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 57 

Innovation ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 57 

Lessons to learn from COPROTEC ................................................................................................................................................................... 57 

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY IN HODMEZOVASARHELY (HUNGARY) ................................................................................................................................... 58 

Key statistics ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 58 

CHAPTER 6 KEY TRANSFERS AND COOPERATION WHICH HAVE COME OUT OF THE PROJECT .................................................. 61 

TRANSFER BETWEEN PARTNER REGIONS ................................................................................................................................................................. 62 

EXTENDED NETWORKS IN RENEWABLE ENERGIES ..................................................................................................................................................... 63 

INTER-REGIONAL CROSS-BORDER APPROACH .......................................................................................................................................................... 63 

WEB 2.0 COLLABORATIVE TOOLS............................................................................................................................................................................ 63 

CHAPTER 7 RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................................................................... 66 

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS: ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 67 

1. Stability of Market Mechanisms ............................................................................................................................................................... 67 

2. Finance - Green Loans............................................................................................................................................................................. 67 

3. Retrofit of Buildings .................................................................................................................................................................................. 67 

4. Energy Bookkeeping Method & Plans ..................................................................................................................................................... 67 

5. Purchase Agreements .............................................................................................................................................................................. 67 

6. Partnerships ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 67 

7. Local Taxes .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 67 

8. Promotion of Educational Schemes ......................................................................................................................................................... 67 

9. Development of Local Acceptance of RE ................................................................................................................................................ 68 

10. Skills and Education .............................................................................................................................................................................. 68 

11. Local Authorities, Enterprise and Regional/European Participants ...................................................................................................... 68 

12. Co-operation with Local Authorities and Local Energy Authorities ....................................................................................................... 68 

80 


CHAPTER 8 CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................................................................................................... 70 

RETS information by type of renewable technology ......................................................................................................................................... 72 

RETS information by type of intervention .......................................................................................................................................................... 73 

APPENDICES .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 74 

PARTNER LINKS .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 75 

RETS LINKS......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 75 

USEFUL EU LINKS ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 75 

GENERAL INFORMATION ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 75 

International: ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 75 

Europe: ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 75 

7th Framework Programme: .............................................................................................................................................................................. 75 

Europa, Summaries of EU Legislation: .............................................................................................................................................................. 76 

Initiatives/ Networks/ Observatories .................................................................................................................................................................. 76 

EUROPEAN ASSOCIATIONS .................................................................................................................................................................................... 76 

EUROPEAN TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS ................................................................................................................................................................... 76 

BEST PRACTICES PROJECT LINKS .......................................................................................................................................................................... 77 

BEST PRACTICES IN THIS COMPENDIUM .................................................................................................................................................................. 77 

Local authority buildings .................................................................................................................................................................................... 77 

Training and education ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 77 

Private sector encouragement ........................................................................................................................................................................... 77 

Community owned schemes .............................................................................................................................................................................. 77 

Local planning policy .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 77 

ALL THE GOOD PRACTICES .................................................................................................................................................................................... 77 

LINKS IN RESPEDIA .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 77 

OTHER REPORTS AND INFORMATION ....................................................................................................................................................................... 78 

ABOUT LOCAL DECISION-MAKING ............................................................................................................................................................................ 78 

ABOUT JOBS ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 78 

ABOUT SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE .................................................................................................................................................................................. 78 

A QUICK GUIDE TO UNITS ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 79 

ENERGY ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 79 

POWER – A RATE OF ENERGY TRANSFER ................................................................................................................................................................. 79 

SUBSCRIPTS ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 79 

PHOTO CREDITS .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 80 

CONTRIBUTORS TO THE COMPENDIUM .................................................................................................................................................................... 80 

TABLE OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 81 


81

82

Promoting renewable energies - RETS Project

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?