Europe's renewable energy deployment 'sub-optimal', report says

(EurActiv, 21 Jan 2015) Europe could have saved itself $100 billion (€86bn) by installing solar power panels in sunnier countries and wind turbines in windier places, the World Economic Forum's "Future of Electricity" platform said in a report released on Tuesday (20 January).

The report , written with consultancy Bain, added that another $40 bilion (€34.5bn) could have been saved by better cross-border coordination and bigger power cables between countries.

It said that even though Spain gets about 65% more solar energy than Germany (1750 kilowatt-hours per square metre/year compared to 1050 kWh/m2 for Germany), Germany has installed about 600% more solar photovoltaic capacity (33 gigawatts compared to 5 GW).

But while Spain has less wind than northern European countries, it has still installed 23 GW of wind power capacity.

"Such sub-optimal deployment of resources is estimated to have cost the EU approximately $100 billion more than if each country in the EU had invested in the most efficient capacity given its renewable resources," the WEF report said.

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EurActiv, 21 Jan 2015: Europe's renewable energy deployment 'sub-optimal', report says