Green Energy Boost Needed To Reach 2020 Goals

BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--The production of green energy must be expanded swiftly across the European Union in order to meet the E.U.'s 2020 environmental targets - but it can be done, E.U. Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said Monday.
As much as 34% of the E.U.'s electricity will likely come from renewables by 2020, with wind and biomass playing a key role, Piebalgs said. Solar energy will also become important as its cost is expected to halve by 2020, he added.
The European Commission has put forward a package of proposals to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the E.U., boost energy efficiency and increase to 20% the share of renewable energy for the bloc's energy needs by 2020.
In Spain, 10% of electricity in an average day is provided by wind energy and France already uses tidal power to produce electricity, Piebalgs said in a speech to the European Council of Applied Sciences, Technologies and Engineering in London.
The commissioner said the cost of meeting the green energy targets is "very modest."
"There is clearly a direct cost of the policy but it is relatively minor, and we believe there is a clear medium-term gain," he said.
In the U.K., the cost of the package would be less than GBP1 billion a year by 2020, he said. Taking into account the investments needed to replace aging power plants and other energy infrastructure, the amount is relatively small and the gains significant, he said.
National governments and the European Parliament are negotiating over the package, and some countries, including Italy and Poland, have complained that the proposals are too costly and will hamper growth at a time of economic downturn.
"We don't have a long-term choice about developing a low-carbon economy," Piebalgs said.
"Climate change, vulnerability to high fossil-fuel prices and energy security mean that we must not let current market turmoil distract us," he added.
-By Alessandro Torello, Dow Jones Newswires; +32 2 741 14 88; alessandro.torello@dowjones.com