EWEA - Letter to EU Heads of State

This Thursday and Friday, the EU Heads of State will meet in Brussels to discuss the package of measures establishing a new Energy policy for Europe which was issued by the European Commission on 10 January.

A centrepiece of the package is the proposal of an overall binding target for 20% of the EU energy supply to be provided by renewable energy sources by 2020. The Energy Ministers and the EU ambassadors decided to leave that specific decision to the Spring Summit.

Last Friday, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) sent an open letter to the 27 Heads of State asking them to support the binding EU-wide 20% target for renewables. A stable legal framework and strong signals for the future direction of renewable electricity are fundamental mainstays for the wind energy sector and are necessary to maintain and further expand European leadership in this rapidly growing industry.

In the current context of the looming climate and energy crisis, EWEA calls on Heads of State to take this unique opportunity to simultaneously fight

Letter to 27 Heads of State:

"Dear Heads of State,

On 10 January 2007 the European Commission put forward a comprehensive package of measures to establish a new Energy Policy for Europe. A centrepiece of the package was the proposal of an overall binding target for 20% of the EU energy supply to be provided by renewable energy sources by 2020.

In its recent conclusions, the Energy Council endorsed this 20% target but did not reach agreement as to whether it should be binding or indicative. In resolutions passed on 14 December 2006 and 14 February 2007, the European Parliament called for a binding target of 25% and binding sectoral targets - an approach fully supported by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).

On behalf of the European wind energy sector, I ask for your support of the European Commission’s proposal for a binding target for renewables of 20% by 2020 at the upcoming EU Spring Summit.

A rejection of the proposed overall binding target, as well as putting into question the existing successful sectoral approach, would represent a dramatic step backwards compared to the current situation. This would also put EU global leadership in wind energy and other renewables at risk. Such a situation would be potentially devastating for our sector.

The negotiation of a new overall legislative framework for renewable energy would no doubt create uncertainty about the existing legal framework for renewable electricity, most notably the well functioning 2001 Directive on Electricity from Renewable Energy Sources. To minimise investor uncertainty, we ask you to encourage a fast adoption of any new legislation, while seeking to uphold legal stability for renewable electricity during the negotiations of the new framework.

A stable legal framework and strong signals for the future direction of renewable electricity are fundamental mainstays for the wind energy sector and are necessary to maintain and further expand European leadership in this rapidly growing industry. We hope that you will take these aspects into consideration when meeting with your European colleagues in March and remain at your disposal to discuss them further with you.

Yours sincerely,

Arthouros Zervos
President"

For more information or to interview CEO, Christian Kjaer, on this issue, please contact Isabelle Valentiny, Communications Director, EWEA - European Wind Energy Association, 63-65 Rue d'Arlon, B-1040, Brussels, Belgium