Renewable energy research agenda examined

A major conference in Brussels this week has been examining how to better co-ordinate Europe's research into renewable energy sources. The conference was accompanied by an exhibition showcasing some of the successful projects that have been funded at European level.


The EU is set to invest ¬440 million in research to advance these technologies between 2002 and 2006 to help achieve its goal of having 12% of the overall energy consumption in the EU coming from renewables by 2010.

Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for Science and Research said: “Today’s research policy provides the knowledge for tomorrow’s energy policy. Our long-term goal is a transformation of the current fossil-fuel based energy system into a more secure, energy efficient and sustainable one. Enhancing our knowledge of renewable energy sources through research is an important step to achieving this goal as part of a sustainable energy mix.”

Renewable energy research currently represents about 50% of the energy research programme and the Commission is proposing to maintain, or increase, this for 2007 to 2013. It tries to promote cross-industry and cross-sector collaboration in the short, medium and long term, and has supported the creation of a Technology Platform in the photo-voltaics sector, while platforms in other areas such as wind are now in the pipeline.

For more information see the EU Energy Research pages

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