Tuesday, October 3, 2023
 
 

EU needs small and medium-sized renewable energy projects

French representatives from Engie Group, Suez Environnment, Elpedison, PowiDian, Dalkia, Valorem and Envirogroup discuss new technologies and energy distribution in Greece

- Advertisement -

ATHENS – Despite pledges of US President-elect Donald Trump to ease regulations for oil and coal and abandon climate change obligations, Europe is forging ahead with renewables.

“Trump is an epiphenomenon unfortunate for America. But what’s happening in COP21 and recently COP22 is to reinforce the objective of the main financing people to go and finance public and private institutions,” Olivier Decherf, president of Envirogroup and a delegate of Club Ademe International, representing a network of innovative eco-companies, told New Europe in Athens on November 24.

Decherf was part of a vibrant panel to discuss new technologies and energy distribution with French representatives from Engie Group, Suez Environnment, Elpedison, PowiDian, Dalkia, and Valorem at a business and entrepreneurship forum, focusing on energy and environment at the French Institute in Athens.

He noted, however, that financing small and medium-sized energy projects, like a 500KW project, remains a challenge. Different parts of Europe need those kinds of projects to end energy isolation, he said.

“In this world of energy, what we need is to decentralise as much as possible our production of energy. And some times we need large projects – a large solar farm or a wind farm – but we need also to have small or medium size projects,” Decherf said, adding that sometimes it is easier to finance a 30 million euro renewables project that an one million euro project. “When it is a technical project from a local collectivity or from enterprise, it is starting to be difficult to find funds. One aspect that we try to look at is how to develop the awareness of the financial people to finance more projects of smaller size,” Decherf said.

The French expert also noted that “Autoconsommation” – companies that produce and consume their own energy – is gaining ground in Europe. “I’m very optimistic that this is starting now in America, it’s starting in France, in Germany, etcetera, and this will spread a lot because this is most advantageous for the people to be aware that they can produce their own energy and connect to the local grid. There are a lot of difficulties for that, which is you need to have a grid which accepts the renewables, you need to have an intelligent, a smart accounting system to do that,” Decherf said, adding that in the future medium-size companies or groups will develop a lot of these solutions.

In Europe, the price of energy is still a problem, he said. “Still, the price of energy is increasing quite a lot from country to country,” he said. “So to be able to master your consummation and your production will start to become key.”

Decherf said he believes in Europe and its ability to create an energy distribution network that will expand beyond the borders of European countries like Greece, for example.

He said the role of the European Commission is to massively invest in energy interconnectors “more than to finance small or medium projects where private sector can do it. But the interconnection network, I think if Europe can do that it will be much stronger also in terms of world competiveness for Europe as well”.

follow on twitter @energyinsider

- Advertisement -

Subscribe to our newsletter

Co-founder / Director of Energy & Climate Policy and Security at NE Global Media

Latest

Iran protesters mark anniversary of “Bloody Friday”

Residents in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and...

US announces Israel’s acceptance into the Visa Waiver Program

Israeli citizens will be allowed visa-free entry into the...

UN General Assembly 2023: More progress urgently needed on Sustainable Development Goals

The 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) kicked off...

Don't miss

Iran protesters mark anniversary of “Bloody Friday”

Residents in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and...

US announces Israel’s acceptance into the Visa Waiver Program

Israeli citizens will be allowed visa-free entry into the...

UN General Assembly 2023: More progress urgently needed on Sustainable Development Goals

The 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) kicked off...

Europe’s lawmakers see opportunity for regime change a year after Iran’s latest uprising

On September 21, representatives of various political groups held...

UN General Assembly 2023: More progress urgently needed on Sustainable Development Goals

The 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) kicked off in New York as planned on September 18, with global attention focused on the so-called...

Interest surges in Turkmen gas

Turkmenistan's huge gas reserves have been generating considerable interest from potential importers following Ashgabat's announcement in late July that it is open to the development...

European aviation industry embraces new jet fuel regulation

The European Parliament on September 13 approved a new law to increase the uptake of sustainable fuels, such as advanced biofuels or hydrogen, in...

Nairobi Declaration calls for global tax on fossil fuel trade, maritime transport, aviation

As the curtains came down at the Africa Climate Summit (ACS23), heads of state and government adopted the Nairobi Declaration, calling on world leaders...

Mongolia to expand its economic and trade partnerships

Mongolia, the landlocked mineral-rich country bordered by Russia and China - the world's two preeminent authoritarian-run nations, is looking to expand its economic, trade,...

Zelensky Athens visit eclipses Mitsotakis’ informal Western Balkans Summit

Receiving a full house of Western Balkan leaders, as well as several EU luminaries, in Athens on an evening when much of northern Greece...

Turkmenistan signals major change in energy-export stance

A big shift is brewing for Caspian Basin energy exports. In a diplomatic about-face, Turkmenistan has signaled its readiness to develop a Trans-Caspian pipeline...

Can Central Asia escape China’s debt trap?

While Washington focuses on the war in Ukraine, Russia and China seek to expand their influence in regions where the US is not sufficiently...