EU Commission's Energy Efficiency Plan 2011
Waste To Energy
Greater use of (high-efficiency) cogeneration, including from municipal waste treatment plants, and district heating and cooling can make an important contribution to energy efficiency, according to the EU Commission’s Energy Efficiency Plan 2011. The commission said the Union has set itself a target for 2020 of saving 20% of its primary energy consumption compared to projections, and why this objective was identified in the Commission’s Communication on Energy 2020 as a key step towards achieving our long-term energy and climate goals.
Substantial steps have been taken towards this objective - notably in the appliances and buildings markets. Nonetheless, recent Commission estimates suggest that the EU is on course to achieve only half of the 20% objective. According to the Commission, the EU needs to act now to get on track to achieve its target. Responding to a call from the European Council to take “determined action to tap the considerable potential for higher energy savings,” the Commission has developed its new Energy Efficiency Plan.
The Commission said that it will propose that where there is a sufficient potential demand, for example where there is an appropriate concentration of buildings or industry nearby, authorisation for new thermal power generation should be conditional on the adoption of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) technologies. To improve the energy-saving performance of CHP systems, the Commission also proposes that electricity distribution system operators provide priority access for electricity from CHP, and will propose reinforcing the obligations on transmission system operators concerning access and dispatching of this electricity.
Next Stages
“The Commission will monitor the implementation of the Action Plan and translate these actions into a legislative proposal in the coming months. It will report on progress in spring 2013. If the review shows that the overall EU target is unlikely to be achieved, the Commission will propose legally binding targets for 2020. For now, the priority is for binding measures to help Member States, companies and citizens alike to achieve their savings objectives and to save on their energy bills.”
The Communication added that the binding measures put forward in this plan will be implemented through appropriate legislative instruments, including a legislative proposal encompassing revision of the existing Energy Services and Combined Heat and Power Directives. The next steps during 2011 will be the adoption of that proposal; the adoption of new ecodesign and energy labeling measures; the launching of the Smart Cities and Smart Communities initiative; and proposals on financing tools which will be brought forward during the budgetary discussions of 2011.
Impact Assessment
Public consultation on Smart Cities and Communities Initiative closes on 13th May 2011. The questionnaire asks cover: Electricity and heating/cooling grids; Waste heat; Waste management. Should be quantitative indicators to measure cities’ efforts to increase efficiency and sustainability (such as, e.g. primary energy consumption per inhabitant or per square metre; increase of share of renewable energy sources; reduction of CO2 per inhabitant or per square metre). This content has been supplied by the Confederation of European Waste-to-Energy Plants (CEWEP).
Learn More:
Turn Municipal Waste Into Clean, Local Energy
The EU’s Energy Efficiency Plan points to cogeneration from municipal waste treatment plants as key to hitting its 20% primary energy saving target.
Klean Industries builds waste-to-energy and gasification plants that convert municipal waste into electricity, heat and valuable products.
Want to capture energy value from your municipal waste stream ?
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