Brussels, 20/12/2001 (Agence Europe) - In a report published in December, the European Environment Agency (EEC) outlines elements of success in projects involving renewable energy sources.
"Renewable energies: success stories" aims to contribute to the efforts made in the various Member States to meet their targets for increasing the share of energy generated from renewable sources by the year 2010. The study looks at the extent to which each Member State has managed to extend the use of a number of specific renewable energy technologies (during the period from 1993 to 1999) focussing on photovoltaic solar panels, solar heating, wind energy and biomass of various sorts (wood and specially grown plants). The report identifies essential elements for success in seven areas: financial and administrative support, technological development and training and education. It concludes that the key to success lies in the combination of several measures rather than in any one factor alone. The winning combination varies from one technology to another. The success stories include the expansion of solar thermal energy and urban heating in Austria based on biomass fuel; wind power and biomass in Denmark; photovoltaic, solar and wind energy in Germany; and photovoltaics and wind power in Spain; and biomass fuel use in Sweden. "This report helps point the way toward solutions. It demonstrates the Agency's determination not only to provide information to support better decision making but to gather and disseminate best practice information for actors on the ground" noted the Executive Director, Domingo Jiménez-Beltran. (Full report: http: //reports.eea.eu.int/environmental_issue_report_2001_27/en/).