Research priorities for the renewable energy sector
FP7 Research Priorities for the Renewable Energy Sector (March 1st, 2005). After increasing its turnover tenfold from 1.5 billion EUR in 1990 to 15 billion EUR in 2004, the European renewable energy[1] sector has only just begun to reveal its enormous potential for growth. As its contribution to Europe’s economy grows, so will its workforce, with 1 million expected to work in the sector by 2010. Technology-focused small- and medium-sized companies with an ability to assimilate and commercialise new scientific knowledge are the driving force behind the renewable energy industry’s expansion.
Renewable energy research – an investment for a sustainable energy future. Europeans are clearly in favour of clean and sustainable energy production from renewables. Asked in a 2002 survey ”In which of the following areas would you like to see more energy-related research in the European Union”, they voted for renewables-related research far ahead of fossil and nuclear energy research[2]. There are many reasons for this positive public image, not least the sector’s contribution towards fighting climate change by generating energy cleanly without causing net carbon dioxide emissions. At the same time, renewable energy can reduce our dependence on imported energy.
The renewable energy sector can make a substantial contribution towards a number of major EU policies:
- the ‘Lisbon’ and ‘Barcelona’ objectives, which describe a dynamic ‘knowledge’ economy based around research, development and innovation with a specific focus on the competitive key sector of environmental technology
- a weaker reliance on energy imports
- the development and use of renewable energy resources as laid down in the EC’s renewable energy directives and 1997 White Paper
- the fulfilling of international obligations such as the Kyoto Protocol
Given the high importance of these objectives, and the EU’s aspirations for the renewable energy sector, the decline in public financial support for renewable energy research at EU and Member State level is a worrying trend that must be reversed. In recent years, EU funding has dropped from 400-450 million EUR in FP4 and FP5 to approximately 380-410 million EUR in FP6. Direct funding by the Member States of EU-15 slumped from 300 million EUR to 250 million EUR between the start and end of the 1990s, but has since shown evidence of rallying slightly. As an emerging industry, the renewable energy sector needs a supportive political and legal framework to reach its full potential, which includes strong public investment in research and development and better incentives for private-sector research spending.
The content of the following chapters is a first for the European renewable energy sector, for they describe the outcome of a joint discussion, in some cases conducted over as much as three years, between representatives from research and industry. The result is a collection of research priorities for each technology that could serve as useful input to the future FP7 work programme. The overall message is clear: there is much to do in each area, whether it is in bioenergy, solar thermal, photovoltaics, hydropower, wind energy, geothermal or any of the other areas we cover, such as the integration of the different technologies into our energy supply systems or “solar buildings”, a topic that also includes aspects of energy efficiency.
Our discussions have led us to conclude that, as regards the Seventh Framework Programme, we need:
- An average annual research budget for renewable energy of 250 million EUR
- A budget within FP7 exclusively for renewable energy technologies
- Better tools and mechanisms to increase the take-up of research results by industry
- Changes to the implementation of the Framework Programme that encourage greater SME participation
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