The winter of Europe’s (energy) discontent

http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/headlines/news/article_06_03_29_en.html

Below average winter temperatures, souring heating costs and questions about secure supplies all add up to a winter of energy discontent in Europe. Alternatives are being investigated and increasingly used, from renewable sun, wind and bio-energy resources to fast-track solutions for stimulating more and better use of distributed energy resources (DER). EU-DEEP, a European Union-funded project, is keen to remove the barriers to deeper and wider application of DER in Europe.

Freezing cold weather is a reason to turn the thermostat up a degree or two. But as the winter season drags on, and the heating bills get longer, Europe is asking itself, is this sustainable? Latvia’s capital Riga recorded -29°C in January and Brandenburg, Germany, was not far behind with -27°C – the lowest temperatures in the country since 1956. The cold was not limited to northern Europe, either. Central and southern parts of Portugal experienced their first snow in more than 50 years this winter.

Questions of climate change and its impact on the world’s weather patterns aside, these cold temperatures put a heavy burden on Europe’s energy supplies – and on its citizens’ bank balances. A group of eight leading European energy utilities, together with manufacturers, research organisations, national energy agencies and even a bank, have joined forces to help bring down technical and non-technical barriers preventing large-scale deployment of DER.

With the help of €15 million in Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) funding from the EU, the Integrated Project is designing, developing and validating promising new business models (including markets, technology, actors and financing) based on market requirements to “amplify large-scale penetration of DER in Europe” from 2010 onwards.

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