The aim of the European Industrial Initiatives is to ensure European industry has the opportunity to be a world leader in the development of clean and efficient energy technologies, concentrating efforts on the main challenges and obstacles and proposing specific actions for the 2010-2020 period. The EIIs are also designed to organise the research efforts in each area at a European level, selecting the technologies with the greatest potential.
During the official launch of the first four EIIs, the Spanish Presidency of the EU, the European Commission, the SET Plan Steering Group and industry executives issued a Joint Declaration giving their support for these initiatives.
The EIIs and their work plans have been drafted jointly by industry, the scientific community (European Energy Research Alliance) under the supervision of the Commission, and the SET Plan Steering Group, in which member states are represented. During the conference presentations were made of the main aspects of the EIIs being launched. The projects included in the EIIs will be funded through existing instruments.
European Solar Initiative (photovoltaic and thermoelectric)
The aim of this initiative is to make these technologies more competitive and to facilitate their large-scale penetration in urban areas and their integration into the electricity network. According to the European Commission's communiqué to the Council of the European Union last year, which set out the specific proposals for implementing the SET Plan, the total investment (public and private) needed in Europe over the next 10 years in order to develop the activities of this initiative is estimated at €16 billion.
European Wind Power Initiative
The aim of this initiative is to make wind power generation fully competitive, so that by 2020 some 20% of the electricity consumed in the EU is produced from wind power, and to facilitate its integration into the electricity network. The total estimated investment in Europe over the next 10 years is €6 billion.
European initiative for the capture, transport and storage of carbon dioxide
The main aim of this initiative is to develop the most promising technologies for capturing, transporting and storing CO2 in energy generation and in power intensive industries which use other fossil fuels (mainly coal and gas).The total public and private investment needed in Europe over the next 10 years is estimated to be €13 billion.
European electricity networks initiative
The total public and private investment needed in Europe over the next 10 years to develop this initiative is estimated at €2 billion. The aim is that by 2020 some 50% of networks in Europe will allow renewable energy to be integrated and will operate on the basis of "intelligent" principles, tailoring supply and demand to meet the needs of citizens.
SET Plan
The Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) is the EU's pillar for energy and climate policies. It was proposed by the European Commission in 2007 and endorsed by member states and the European Parliament. The execution of the SET Plan is co-ordinated by the European Commission.
The SET Plan defines the work plan for developing a portfolio of affordable, clean, efficient and low carbon emission technologies through co-ordinated research. It also sets out a strategy for speeding up the development of these technologies and making them available to the market. The most important details of the SET Plan are included in a Communiqué from the Commission to the Council in October 2009, which sets out the specific proposals for implementing the SET Plan, and in the Council's conclusions on this documents, adopted at the meeting of the Council for Transport, Telecommunications and Energy on 12 March this year.
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