WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2062/98 by Esko SEPPÄNEN to the Commission. Promotion of renewable energy sources at national level
29. 4. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 118/19 6. As regards further action on this problem the Council would also remind the Honourable Member that the European Council meeting on 15 and 16 June 1998 in Cardiff stressed that the year 2000 computer problem should continue to receive top priority and therefore invited the Commission to report before the Vienna meeting of the European Council on the initiatives which have been taken to improve the state of readiness in each Member State. (1999/C 118/022) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2062/98 by Esko Seppänen (GUE/NGL) to the Commission Subject: Promotion of renewable energy sources at national level (7 July 1998) The European Union has set itself the target of increasing the proportion of energy from renewable sources to 15 % of total energy produced. According to some estimates, the current proportion is only 8 %, over three quarters of which is represented by hydro-electric power. If the figure of 15 % is to be achieved, the growth must come from other energy sources. Does the Commission have figures for the proportion of energy produced from renewable sources in each Member State, and will an attempt be made at EU level to initiate national programmes to bring the proportion of renewable energy up to 15 %? Answer given by Mr Papoutsis on behalf of the Commission (22 September 1998) The Council adopted a resolution on 8 June 1998 (1) on promoting renewables with the clear objective of doubling the present share of renewable energy sources in the Communityís primary energy consumption by 2010, from the current level of 6 % to 12 % based on recommendations of the Commissionís white paper and action plan for renewables, adopted in November 1997 (2). Water power (large and small hydro) accounted for 13 % of total electricity generation in the Community in 1995. The white paper contains tables with figures for the renewables share in total energy consumption per Member State, as requested by the Honourable Member. As part of the strategy put forward in the white paper, Member States will have to play a very large role in the effort to increase the market penetration of renewables. The majority of Member States either already have national plans and programmes aimed at doing so, or are in the process of adopting such schemes and measures and will also need to allocate resources. The Commission is strongly encouraging this process at national and regional level but it is for the Member States to set up such national programmes supporting and promoting renewables. The principal rôle of the Community and the Commission is to undertake actions at Community level when there is added value, to ensure coordination between the actions undertaken by Member States, and to promote full transparency as well as a coherent and self-reinforcing approach and fair competition. The Commission clearly also has a role to ensure the optimized use of existing Community resources in order to promote renewables. The Commission is actively encouraging Member States to adopt their own national targets for increased share of renewables, each according to its own circumstances and in full respect of subsidiarity, but it cannot oblige Member States to do so. The Commission has the responsibility of carrying out the necessary monitoring of renewables and of making proposals for any adjustment which may prove necessary over the course of the strategy, in order to keep the Communityís efforts as a whole on track towards the overall objective of reaching a 12 % share of renewables in the Communityís energy balance by 2010. (1) OJ C 198, 24. 6. 1998. (2) COM(97) 599 final