16. Calls on the Member States to modernise their national energy grids and interconnect them with a European super smart grid while providing major energy storage capacities within the EU (including multi-use gas/hydrogen facilities, large and small hydropower, high-temperature solar and other technologies)and a stable and secure flow of affordable energy; furthermore stresses the need for all grids to be adapted, in a way that allows for unhindered ...[+++]feed-in of electricity generated by renewable energy and for the full use of opportunities for the best possible environmental outcomes in the routeing of power lines, and the need to modernise the grids in order to avoid losses of energy; stresses also the need to take further action to connect isolated territories (e.g. islands and peripheral regions) to the European electricity grid;

Therefore, it is not clear why a complete industry, which is expected to produce significant waste streams, is being excluded, particularly as the solar industry is likely to be responsible for a large amount of waste in the near future, when the first solar cells installed on large numbers on European roofs have to be replaced.

Key follow-up actions: Pursue the implementation of the key infrastructure projects defined in the Commission Communication on 'Energy infrastructure priorities for 2020 and beyond' Diversify gas and oil supply sources and routes including by opening the Southern Corridor as a matter of urgency Promote viability and continuous functioning of the existing oil and gas infrastructure in the East and support the rehabilitation of the Ukrainian gas transmission network by 2020 Develop a tri-partite cooperation at political and administrative level with Russia and Ukraine to ensure stable and uninterrupted gas supplies through the Eastern Corridor Promote cooperation on renewable energy projects with the Southern Mediterranean countries, notably ...[+++]in the framework of the Mediterranean Solar Plan, with the launching of pilot solar plant projects in 2011-2012 |

Key EU technology challenges for the next 10 years to meet the 2020 targets: Make second generation biofuels competitive alternatives to fossil fuels, while respecting the sustainability of their production; Enable commercial use of technologies for CO2 capture, transport and storage through demonstration at industrial scale, including whole system efficiency and advanced research; Double the power generation capacity of the largest wind turbines, with off-shore wind as the lead application; Demonstrate commercial readiness of large-scale Photovoltaic (PV) and Concentrated Solar Power; Enable a single, smart European el ...[+++]ectricity grid able to accommodate the massive integration of renewable and decentralised energy sources; Bring to mass market more efficient energy conversion and end-use devices and systems, in buildings, transport and industry, such as poly-generation and fuel cells; Maintain competitiveness in fission technologies, together with long-term waste management solutions; |