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Europe’s plan for 20% renewable energy by 2020

Europe’s Ambitious ‘Green Grid’ Plan.  To boost new energy sources such as wind, solar, and tidal, nine countries will link up producers through a C30 billion smart grid under the North Sea, Business Week 7 Jan 2010 By Valentina Pop

Nine north-western European countries are planning a giant underwater energy grid in the North Sea linked to wind farms, tidal power stations and hydroelectric plants.

Thousands of kilometers of high-tech energy cables are set to be laid on the seabed of the North Sea in the coming ten years, in what will become Europe’s groundbreaking energy park, Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reports.

The cables would link existing and new windmills off the German and British coasts with Belgian and Danish tidal power stations and Norwegian hydroelectric plants. The €30-billion project would compensate for the irregular nature of renewable energy and provide a steady flow to the countries involved……..

After initial meetings in Ireland last year, officials from the nine countries will meet in the February, and aim to sign a binding agreement by the end of 2010. The project is mainly going to be funded by energy firms, which will be drawn into the negotiations. It is expected to produce 100 gigawatts of power.

The EU hopes to generate a fifth of its electricity needs from renewable energy sources by 2020, a move which requires new modern energy grids, capable of absorbing the fluctuations of wind and solar energy….http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jan2010/gb2010017_256132.htm

January 8, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | climate change, EUROPE, renewable | renewable energy, renewables, solar