EU urges more investment in renewable energy

The EU's 2020 renewable energy targets will be met and exceeded, according to the European Commission, if each country fully implements its renewable energy model and improves financial support, including grants, loans, feed in tariffs and certificate regimes.

If renewable energy is to be integrated into the European market as a whole, support between the individual member states needs to improve. This alone could save the EU €10 billion a year.

However, despite the commission's optimistic communication, recent figures tell a different story. Last year, the individual energy goals set by each member state were not met and thus the EU failed overall.

Investments into the renewable energy sector need to double from €35 billion a year to €70 billion a year. The new EU legislative outline requires member states to commit further and invest more into the sector. This however, will need to use of national support schemes.