International Panel of Experts to Consider the Impact of the Production and Use of Energy on the Environment

reduction of environmental impacts from energy production and use

International Panel of Experts to Consider the Impact of the Production and Use of Energy on the Environment

energy utilisation factor | energy utilization factor | load factor

utilization of electrical energy

annual cycle energy system | ACES

constant energy intensity

Symposium on the Economics of Small Renewable Energy Systems in Developing Countries

distributed generation | DG | decentralised generation | energy distributed generation | embedded generation

electricity generation plant operator | power station operative worker | electric power station worker | power plant control room operator

The non-confidential version of the decisions will be published in the State Aid Register on the DG Competition website under case numbers SA.46898 (Support scheme for electricity generation installations using biogas produced by methanisation and for electricity generation installations using energy extracted from geothermal deposits), SA.46655 (Top-up payment for onshore wind farms in 2016) and SA.43780 (Tariff support for small hydroelectric plants), once any confidentiality issues have been resolved.

Calls for the partial use of CAP to be maintained and increased in order to support investment in the production and use of renewable energy in the agricultural sector.

Welcomes the Commission communication of February 2016 on an EU strategy on heating and cooling, but highlights the lack of progress and low targets set for renewable use in heating and cooling, in particular in buildings; stresses the great potential for continued progress in renewable use in heating and cooling; notes that the heating and cooling sector accounts for half the EU’s final energy consumption and therefore plays a key role in achieving the EU objectives on climate and renewable energy resources; recognises the benefits of increasing renewable energy in the heating and cooling sector; stresses the increased flexibility o ...[+++]f thermal infrastructure and storage in facilitating the integration of variable renewable sources by storing energy in the form of heat, offering excellent returns on investment and providing opportunities for enhancing quality local employment; calls on the Commission to bridge the regulatory gaps in the post-2020 renewables legislative package; reiterates that efforts in the heating and cooling sector hold great potential for increased energy security (given that 61 % of gas imported into the European Union is used in buildings, mainly for heating purposes), for example through the development of district heating/cooling networks, which are an efficient means of integrating sustainable heat into cities on a large scale, since they can simultaneously deliver heat derived from a range of sources and are not inherently dependent on any one source.

28. Highlights in this context the positive impact of secondary metals, which help to significantly reduce energy and raw material input; calls therefore on the Commission to facilitate the development and functioning of secondary metal markets; encourages the establishment of a circular economy at every base metals production plant in order to link the exploitation of by-products and recycled metals with the aim of increasing their competitiveness; calls for it to be made mandatory to establish a circular economy at every base metals ...[+++]production plant in order to link the exploitation of by-products and recycled metals with the aim of increasing their competitiveness; adopts the aim of making rapid progress in the recycling of rare earths and critical metals consumed in the Union; calls for the development of strong links between the base metal recycling sector and other industries in order to strengthen the size and resilience of the industrial base, in particular in regions affected by deindustrialisation; emphasises in this context the large potential of product and material substitution and increasing the use of scrap metal inter alia in steel and aluminium production; stresses that most base metals can be recycled many times for a fraction of the energy used for primary production; is concerned by the large energy loss for Europe caused by the legal and illegal export of aluminium and copper to countries such as China and India, states which have established aluminium export bans themselves; believes that high environmental standards and circular economy principles should be fundamental to development and innovation investments in the base metals industry sector in Europe; calls on the Commission to develop economic incentives for recycling metals, including currently uneconomical critical raw materials such as rare earths, to investigate how markets for recycled materials can be supported by inter alia green certificates for recycled materials, eco-d ...