10/03/2006	COGEN Hungary annual conference The annual conference of COGEN Hungary took place in Visegrád, just north of Budapest on 7-8 March. The conference was attended by some 175 persons. There was a lot of attention on the first day to the EU Directive on cogeneration and its implications for Hungary. Simon Minett attended from COGEN Europe and delivered a speech entitled “Moving forward – using the Cogeneration Directive to achieve long term growth”. Over the past 5 years Hungary has been an interesting market for CHP with its share of electricity production rising from 9% in 2000 to 20% today. Much of this growth has come from gas engine CHP installed on District Heating networks. More details of the conference and the work of COGEN Hungary can be found on their web-site http://www.mket.hu/
17/02/2006	COGENchallenge project is IEEA Project of the Month The Intelligent Energy Executive Agency gave the COGENchallenge project "Project of the Month" honors in its quarterly newsletter. This coincides with the launch of the COGENchallenge information campaign on small-scale cogeneration. COGENchallenge, which is lead by COGEN Europe, aims at raising awareness for micro and small-scale cogeneration. The web-based information campaign will gradually build up an on-line showcase of 1,000 small-scale cogeneration installations from around Europe to demonstrate the reliability and adaptability of this technology. Owners, operators and suppliers are invited to include their unit by signing up for the campaign. For more info on the COGENchallenge Website click here Contact the coordinator: Frank KNECHT For more info on the IEEA Intelligent Energy News click here
17/02/2006	COGEN Europe present at DG Competition Energy Sector Inquiry public presentation Following the release of the investigation's preliminary findings in November 2005 and a day ahead of the publication of a 200-page preliminary report, The European Commission gathered European gas and electricity sector stakeholders, unveiling the probe's main findings and indicating what the new steps could be. The Energy Sector Inquiry -which is lead by DG Competition- has been actively assessing the market distortions plaguing the European gas and electricity markets and has identified five problematic areas: Concentration of market power Vertical foreclosure Lack of market integration "Endemic" lack of transparency Unsound price formation mechanisms In the first keynote speech, EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes, despite signalling that intention was to give a "general ward of warning", threatened to "use her tools to the full" and was considering launching individual anti-trust investigations within the coming weeks or months that would set "valuable precedents" for the sector. While the full implementation of existing EU legislation appeared as a key focus of the Commission for the months to come, with a review of member State implementation in 2006, Commissioner Kroes said the sector could expect greater transparency obligations and a push towards full structural unbundling, along the Dutch model. The many stakeholders invited to speak all underlined the urgency of the situation and urged the Commission to take transitional measures. Mr Gert van Ingen, COGEN Europe Chairman and CEO of Akzo Nobel Energy thus called for "brave actions in the next few months, especially for consumers". The difficulty of balancing the urgency of the need for action and the necessity to consult widely and carefully examine current market structures was apparent throughout the day. Energy Commissioner Piebalgs indicated that a decision would be taken at the end of 2006 as to whether or not new legislation would be forthcoming or not. He also announced that several infringement procedures would be launched against three unnamed Member States for not correctly transposing and implementing the Electricity and Gas Directives. For further information, please visit the EU Commission's Energy Sector Inquiry webpage here
14/02/2006	Eurostat releases 2002 CHP statistics for the EU-25 Eurostat, the statistics arm of the European Commission, has published CHP statistics for the EU-25 in 2002 in the March 2006 issue of "Statistics in Focus - Energy and Environment". The publication can be downloaded here.
09/02/2006	Germany considering auctioning CO2 emission allowances The German government, in an attempt to curb windfall profits for electricity utilities, is considering auctioning a yet undetermined amount of emission allowances in the second phase of the European Emissions Trading Scheme. Electricity consumers in Germany have consistently complained that utilities have been factoring in the carbon price to the price of electricity sold to end consumers while receiving allowances for free, thereby damaging industrial competitiveness and going against the spirit of the emissions trading scheme.
06/02/2006	Potentials for energy efficiency in Eastern Europe and CIS With the support of the United Nations, the Energy Efficiency 21 (EE21) project ‘Energy Efficiency Investments for Climate Change Mitigation’, has demonstrated that it is possible to identify, develop and finance energy efficiency and renewable energy investment projects that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Eastern Europe and the CIS. The potential for energy efficiency in this region is large as their inefficient and polluting energy systems are glaring economic and environmental problems. They provide some of the most promising self-financing opportunities to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. With only 6 per cent of the world’s population, these countries produce some 12 per cent of greenhouse gases. The investment potential in Eastern Europe for energy efficiency projects with a payback period of less than five years is estimated to be between US$ 5 and US$ 10 billion. More information can be found here.
03/02/2006	European Finance Ministers open way for reduced VAT on district heating European Finance Ministers meeting in Brussels on Wednesday agreed to include district heating to the list of sectors eligible for reduced VAT rates. Under the European Union's sixth VAT Directive, Member States were already able to apply reduced VAT rates of up to 5% for electricity and gas. The French and Portuguese CHP and district heating sectors stand to benefit most for this change as both countries levy high VAT rates on district heating. The inclusion of district heating in the option provided for by Article 12 (3)(b) of the 1992 VAT Directive is an important victory for the European cogeneration sector as a whole and will help increase activity in several countries once governments implement the change.
23/01/2006	COGEN presents its Position Paper on the EU Action Plan on Biomass On 7 December 2005 the Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs presented the Biomass Action Plan that aims at more than doubling the use of biomass energy for electricity, heating and transport by 2010. Biomass offers a vast potential for future energy generation, although the biomass share among the RES has not substantially increased over the recent years. COGEN Europe welcomes the EU efforts to increase the biomass contribution in the RES debate. With the issue of its Position Paper COGEN Europe wants to inform the broader public of its view on the valuable role biomass cogeneration should play in the Biomass Action Plan. We believe that biomass in combination with cogeneration should be the first choice whenever a suitable heat demand and supply of biomass fuel are available. Position Paper on the EU Action Plan on Biomass
13/01/2006	European industry calls for the implementation and expansion of the Buildings Directive Today, a group of seven European industry associations issued a joint statement on the future of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. Co-signed by COGEN Europe, the statement calls for full and rapid implementation of the Directive by all Member States. Moreover, the signatories call for expanding the scope of this piece of European legislation. Key amendments to the current Directive should be: Inclusion of existing buildings below 1,000 square metres Extension of inspection requirements Higher standards for public buildings The Buildings Directive was adopted by the European Parliament in December 2002 and should have been transposed into national law by the beginning of this year. According to estimations by the European Commission, the rigorous implementation of the Directive across the EU-25 could lead to annual energy savings in the magnitude of 41 Mtoe. With additional measures, annual energy savings of up to 70 Mtoe are possible within the next 15 years, the Commission says. “The Buildings Directive is one of the main pillars of European policy for the promotion of cogeneration. However, due to the delays in implementation, this Directive has yet to deliver any real improvements in the market”, Frank Knecht of COGEN Europe says. “In addition, due to the current limitations four fifths of the potential market is not covered yet.” Technologies that would benefit from an expansion of the Buildings Directive are in the micro- and small-scale segment of the market, such as internal combustion engines, Stirling engines, micro-turbines and fuel cells. Joint industry statement
09/01/2006	Europe could more than double the use of biomass for energy purposes, Austrian Presidency says The Austrian Presidency starts with prioritising the EU Action Plan on Biomass. The President of the EU Agriculture Council, the Austrian Minister for Agriculture and the Environment, Mr Josef Pröll, has put the action plan as the first item of the next Council meeting agenda on 23 January 2006. “As a leader in the use of alternative energy sources, Austria has a particular responsibility in this context”, the minister said. He also stated that in the coming four years alone, Europe could more than double the use of biomass for energy purposes. The Council discussions of the EU Action Plan on Biomass coincide with the Biomass Conference organised by COGEN Europe at the same day. This conference is aimed at informing a wide range of stakeholders about the latest developments on the European level, as well as channelling the input of the business community the decision-makers in Brussels. Speakers of the conference include Ms Mechtild Rothe (MEP), Mr Claude Turmes (MEP), Mr Andreas Heinz (European Commission), and Mr Michel Raskin (Chairman of the COGEN Europe working group on renewables). Austrian Presidency press release Biomass Conference website
13/12/2005	Commission adopts Biomass Action Plan The Commission adopted the Biomass Action Plan (BAP) on Wednesday 7 December 2005. The main objective of the plan is to double the use of bio-energy sources (wood, wastes and agricultural crops) in the EU's energy mix by 2010. Currently the EU meets about 4% of its energy needs from biomass. The BAP outlines 31 measures to promote biomass in heating and cooling, electricity production and transport (biofuels), such as: EU legislation in 2006 on the use of RES, including biomass for heating and cooling; a possible revision of the biofuels directive (2006) which might set national targets for the share of biofuels and would oblige fuel suppliers to use biofuels; national biomass action plans to be developed by the Member States (three Member States (the Netherlands, Germany and the UK) already have or are preparing national biomass action plans); development of an industry-led "Biofuel technology platform"; and research into second-generation biofuels. The direct costs would be around 9 billion euros per year. This is equivalent to an increase of about 1.5 cents per litre of petrol and 0.1 cents per kWh of electricity. Please find the link to the report in three languages (German, French and English) here.
08/12/2005	COGEN Europe attends the EUFORES Diner Debate on the proposed "Directive on Renewable Heating and Cooling". COGEN Europe was represented at this well attended event, held in the European Parliament on Tuesday 6 December. The speakers included heavyweight MEPs Metchild Rothe and Peter Liese, both from Germany while Luxembourg MEP Claude Turmes was amongst those attending the debate. It transpired from the event that there would be no call for binding targets for renewable heat and cooling, as there is nowadays a general reluctance in most European circles to impose targets. The proposed directive does not call for a harmonised support mechanism as the renewable community is unwilling to give up some its most successful support mechanisms and appears to be rather cool on the idea of developing certificate schemes, with Mrs Rothe saying that they were to her knowledge unsuccessful. COGEN Europe is actively monitoring the developments in this area and is engaging with the main protagonists actively. The upcoming Biomass CHP Conference of 23 January will be a good opportunity to better integrate the reflections on renewables and cogeneration.
05/12/2005	Energy Council meeting focuses on Energy Efficiency European Energy ministers, meeting in Brussels on 1 December held a debate on climate change and sustainable energy ahead of the Commission's Action Plan on Energy Efficiency and Review of the European Trading Scheme. The ministers welcomed the Commission's Green Paper on Energy Efficiency and there was consensus around the table on the need for further efforts in the area. The Council urged the Commission to develop further the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme and create the proper framework conditions for the deployment of low or zero emissions energy generation. While a wide range of measures and instruments were considered, the ministers stressed the need to "ensure effective application" existing legislation, a thinly veiled reference to the Dutch reluctance to implement the provisions of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. The Dutch minister indicated that his government was weighing the different implementation options and would soon decide on the path to take. Ministers additionally called for the "early adoption" of the Energy Services and End-use Energy Efficiency Directive, while pressing for the swift implementation of measures under the Eco-design of Energy Using Products Directive (2005/32/EC). Click here for full Council Press Release.
02/12/2005	European Parliament calls for EU action on renewable heating and cooling At the ITRE Committee meeting (the industry and energy committee of the European Parliament) MEP Mechtild Rothe (Germany, Socialist Party) presented on 29 November a draft resolution in which she called for EU legislation on renewable heating and cooling. This would be the best way to use the enormous potential of RES, to create the necessary market conditions and to ensure the share of RES in the total energy consumption. According the report, the EU should set a binding target for 25% of renewable heating and cooling by 2020. Nationally binding targets for 2020, which take into account current differences in the share of renewable heating and cooling in the Member States and the potential of each of the relevant technologies, should ensure that the EU target of 25% is attained. The report also calls for a Europe-wide system for monitoring use of renewables for heating and cooling and for setting requirements for new buildings. Please find the report here. The report will now be discussed and voted on in the ITRE Committee and then go to plenary session.