The rapporteur aims to contribute to the solution to the current problems with the RES development and promotion of their growth, by suggesting, from the point of view of local and regional authorities, improvements in the future design and implementation of a simple and uniform support system for RES across the EU.
To support the call for ensuring consistency between national support schemes which can help remove distortions on in the energy market; to require appropriate mechanisms and instruments to promote RES in the coordinated way, such as a pan-European fund to support RES; to raise awareness of the decision makers and stakeholders of the involvement of the regions in promoting renewables and in channelling funds for the promotion of renewables to the regions.
The EP echoes very clearly the call of the CoR for a common European strategy backed-up with a stable policy framework providing economic guarantees for availability of these reserves. Both EP and CoR stress the need to combine different renewable energy technologies through the application of smart grids balancing demand and production as well as the need to research new energy storage technologies.
THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
- notes that the uncoordinated and faster-than-expected development of RES in many countries has led to a number of political, regulatory and technical problems in the operation of energy systems. Serious debate is necessary at the EU level about appropriate mechanisms and instruments to promote RES in a coordinated way;
- points out that a simple and effective support scheme for RES should be developed, based on a common European strategy. A common strategy is needed to develop both market-based and regulatory mechanisms in order to ensure an effective and socially viable transition to higher RES production;
- considers that the future subsidy mechanisms could be based on verified cohesion policy procedures in order to support the production and distribution of renewable energy as well as promote a wider implementation of new RES technologies;
- is convinced that, in order to stabilise the current situation and create long-term incentives for investors, there is a need for more consistency between the decisions of individual Member States. One instrument to promote this could be a pan-European support scheme for renewable energy sources;
- considers that it would be possible to combine different renewable technologies in the regions with new methods of managing power generation and transmission capacity through the application of smart grid technologies, and thus to balance local electricity needs with production, thereby significantly increasing the energy security of the regions and reducing dependence on long-distance energy imports.