European Commission About to Axe Renewables Extension

BRUSSELS, November 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The European Commission's plan to end the "priority dispatch" for Renewable Energy in electricity grids is set to harm investments in European Wind and Solar power systems, to the tune of billions of Euros says European industry initiative EU ProSun, making EU Renewable Energy commitments and the Paris climate goals unachievable. 

According to an article published in the Guardian Newspaper on 1 November, the European Commission's Directorate-General for Energy is preparing an amendment to the Renewable Energy Directive, which will pare back the "priority dispatch" - a system which prioritises solar and wind energy being fed into the power grid over other energy sources such as coal or nuclear electricity.

"The priority dispatch is a central pillar of the energy revolution. If this priority were to be scrapped, coal and nuclear power could block the grid and access of solar and wind power. By prioritising fossil fuel power plants, we will lose any possibility of achieving climate goals in Europe and globally," points out Milan Nitzschke President of EU ProSun, a joint initiative of the European solar manufacturing industry, which promotes sustainable solar energy production.

German Vice-Chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel, has expressed his strong opposition to the European Commission recently, stating it is important for Europe to maintain the priority dispatch for renewable energies.

The elimination of the feed-in priority would lead directly to investment uncertainty said EU ProSun.

"Investment in Renewables like Solar will be significantly damaged if investors cannot be certain that they can feed or sell generated electricity to the power grid. Furthermore, it will undermine incentives for the traditional energy industry to invest in making their power plants more flexible and eliminate investment interest in renewable energies. This will also result in the urgently needed European grid expansion slowing down," said Nitzschke.

Today, Europe lags behind significantly in delivering its renewable energy goals. Solar energy in particular has not yet recovered following the market collapse in 2012 and waning political support.

"The EU is effectively axing its energy and climate goals by choosing to cut the priority dispatch for renewable energies," concluded Nitzschke.

More information: http://www.prosun.org                                             
Email: info@prosun.org
Tiffany Künster, Tel. +49-1637024864