CEPS and COWI have conducted a study for DG ENER of the European Commission on the competitiveness of the renewable energy sector.
The first part of the study provides insights on the competitiveness of the EU renewable heating and cooling industry by answering two key questions:
• How do renewable technologies compete in the heating and cooling sector?
• What is the impact of the heating and cooling sector to the EU economy?
The study covers four segments representing 93% of the European renewable heating and cooling industry: biogas, biomass, heat pumps and solar-thermal. While providing a major contribution to the EU economy in terms of growth and jobs, most of the renewable heating and cooling solutions do not appear cost competitive at the current market conditions. Therefore, policy measures are needed at the EU and national level to increase the competitiveness of the sector and, in turn, ascertain that the EU will timely meet the 32% renewable energy target.
The second part of the study focuses on the impact of corporate sourcing of renewable energy on the competitiveness of the European industry. It answers to fundamental questions:
• What are the drivers and constraints behind corporate sourcing of renewable energy?
• What is the impact of renewable energy on the competitiveness of EU companies?
European companies rely on renewables to meet their energy needs for three main reasons: i) strengthening their competitive advantage and increasing their demand; ii) attracting more capital; and iii) improving their cost competitiveness. At the same time, EU companies face some barriers when trying to source renewables. Many barriers are addressed by the new ‘Clean Energy for All Europeans’ package; others will require additional measures. Should EU-based industrial and commercial companies commit to source renewable electricity to meet 30% of their total demand of electricity by 2030, the EU renewable energy sector could generate more than €750 billion in gross added value and above 220,000 new jobs
Against this background, CEPS is hosting an event to present and discuss the main findings of the study. Such findings have been based on comprehensive consultation activities including interviews with key industry players, an online survey with corporates and several case studies across the EU.
The event is free of charge; registration is required. Remote participation can be arranged upon request.
Registration and coffee from 10.00 – Meeting from 10.25 to 15.30
