Legislators hear the case for wind energy
24/12/08 LONDON. Legislators attending a hearing in Poznan earlier this month heard how Europe could move towards 100 percent use of renewables just by exploiting wind resources.
Dr. Gregor Czisch of the University of Kassel in Germany (pictured right) welcomed the idea of a high voltage direct current supergrid to link Europe with North Africa but said that this should be used to import Moroccan wind energy rather than solar energy from solar thermal power plants.
Dr. Czisch explained how he had collected data on wind speeds and solar radiation throughout the Europe-Mediterranean region. Having established the areas of strongest potential for wind and solar, he´d then looked at the comparative price of wind, solar thermal and solar pv.
It was clear, he said, that the exploitation of wind resources represented the cheapest and therefore the most attractive solution for the foreseeable future and that a supergrid, by allowing collection of these resources over a wider area would make for a more stable supply.
He said that Morocco had good wind resources and that the most important thing was that these resources were at their strongest in the summer – at a time when the potential within Europe was insufficient.
Dr. Gerhard Knies of Desertec (right), who has attended previous hearings and who favours a supergrid to link Europe with more solar thermal power stations in North Africa, welcomed Dr Czisch´s research and suggested cooperation in the future in order to achieve the fastest possible reduction of emissions - by sourcing both solar and wind energy.
Dr. Knies pointed out, however, that there was no need to establish an "optimal solution" and that the cost difference between solar and wind energy was much less critical than the timescale and imperative of emission reduction. Indeed the seriousness of the situation meant that it was urgent for climate security that we pursue all renewable technologies at the same time.
Polish and Lithuanian legislators who attended the hearing felt that the need for a supergrid in the East of Europe was unclear. Polish legislators in particular were concerned that a fast transition to renewables would threaten their coal industry which supplies 95 percent of the country´s energy needs.
Senator Tadeusz Skorupa for example said that emphasis should be put on meeting European targets through small-scale schemes – particularly biomass.
Others were more positive about a supergrid. Legislators Elsa Papademetriou of Greece and Jiri Kratky of the Czech Republic joined MEPs Vittorio Prodi and Rebecca Harms in signing the Call for Clean Energy Supergrids.
ENDS
For more information please contact Jasper Bouverie on +44-751-586-1589
For more information about the e-Parliament and the e-Parliament’s Supergrid Initiative, please visit www.e-parl.net
The e-Parliament would like to thank the World Future Council for co-sponsoring this project. For details about the World Future Council, please visit www.worldfuturecouncil.org
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