Wind energy at heart of EU smart growth strategy

The European Commission's 'Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth' published contains grid and market commitments that will boost the growth of wind energy in Europe, says the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).

Smart growth and sustainable growth are two of the three priorities put forward by the European Commission for the development of Europe’s economy until 2020. These are intended to be implemented through seven ‘flagship initiatives’ of which one is ‘resource efficient Europe’. Here the European Commission states that it will work:

• To complete the internal energy market and implement the strategic energy technologies (SET) plan, promoting renewable sources of energy in the single market would also be a priority.
• To present an initiative to upgrade Europe’s networks, including Trans European Energy Networks, towards a European supergrid, “smart grids” and interconnections in particular of renewable energy sources to the grid (with support of structural funds and EIB).

The strategy document claims that “the integration of the European energy market can add an extra 0.6%? to 0.8% GDP” and that “meeting the EU’s objective of 20% of renewable sources of energy alone has the potential to create more than 600,000 jobs in the EU.”