Barcelona, 26 October 2010
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
Thank
you for inviting me to the first annual conference of the Desertec
Industrial
Initiative. What
brings us together today lies at the core of the European Union
policy in two ways.
First,
it is about inventing new energy solutions – we all know how crucial this is
for
our future,
especially for security of supply, competitiveness and low-carbon
future.
And,
second, it is about developing a new industrial partnership together with
our
neighbours in
the Mediterranean.
This is why the
European Commission welcomes the objectives of the Desertec
Initiative and the enthusiasm of all the partner companies coming from
the EU and
North
Africa. Your consortium managed to gather companies from all the
countries
concerned in the
North and in the South: this is a fundamental condition of success
and I trust that DESERTEC will continue to develop in an inclusive and
open
manner.
Tomorrow’s energy challenges cannot be met with today’s technologies
and
conventional
ways of thinking. Resource efficiency will become one of the main
drivers of our economies. We will need to efficiently use every natural
resource and
to strongly rely
on renewable energy sources. In this respect, DESERTEC is apioneering
initiative.
The
Commission is preparing a strategy to "decarbonise" the energy sector by
2050,
which will
mention the possibilities to develop large scale renewable energies in
the
Mediterranean.
But,
renewable energy is not only about the environment. It’s also about security
of
supply because
renewable energy sources limit our exposure to volatile
hydrocarbons supplies. It is thus as strategic for Europe to develop
solar power
production in
the South as it is to develop large wind farms in the North.
In addition, action is necessary to achieve competitive prices of
renewables.
At the same
time, the European Union is engaged in a true partnership with the
Southern-Mediterranean Countries, notably through our Association
Agreements.
The
socio-economic
development of our partners
and the interest
and support to
them so that
they develop means to face their own energy challenges in the South
is
a shared
objective. It will require increased amounts of energy over the
coming
decades.
Therefore, an initiative like DESERTEC will succeed if it
convincingly
meets two
conditions:
-
First, it benefits our Southern Partners in order to meet their own security
of
supply – this
means that part of the electricity needs to be dedicated to the
local
markets at an
affordable price;
-
Second, the right choices in terms of industrial investment, technology
transfer
and
employment.
What
is the European Union doing to support projects like
DESERTEC?
We
believe that – beyond the first pilot projects – large scale investments in
the
renewable energy
sector will only be possible if the right framework conditions are
put in place. Several of our partners in the South have started
ambitious energy
sector reforms
and regional market integration is starting to gain momentum. The
EU is accompanying these initiatives through its bilateral and regional
programmes.
Our
interventions will continue to focus on setting the right framework conditions
for
investments in
renewable sources.
It is
only a few weeks ago that the Commission launched its latest initiative in
this
field. The
technical assistance project "Paving the way to the Mediterranean
Solar
Plan”, will
contribute to establish harmonised legislative and regulatory
frameworks
for renewable,
improve knowledge transfer and enhance capacity building.
Conditions for a large-scale roll-out of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP)
as a
financial viable
technology must clearly include the available local and regional
grid
infrastructure
and possibilities for crossing the Mediterranean. Here, major
initiatives
are underway.
Our European financing institutions, including the European
Investment Bank and national institutions have become a major source of
financing
of Mediterranean
energy infrastructure. This is a tendency I anticipate will continue
and be strengthened, when the EU agrees on a set of energy
infrastructure priorities
– part
of a coherent proposal for an energy policy framework – that I shall
present
next
month.
In the
European Energy Infrastructure Package the Commission, will focus on
strengthening the European grid and the first and fundamental action we
have to
take to ensure a
European and global functioning of the energy market. I think we
have to look at the broader picture – not only the EU’s internal
infrastructure. In this
way we shall
strengthen energy security, diversification. I am convinced that
the
policy
initiative will have to support renewable energy as a powerful alternative
to
carbonised fuel.
Therefore, we shall already look at the specific financial
possibilities
for crossing the
Mediterranean through super grids to be built mostly after 2020
.
When all framework conditions are in place, Concentrated Solar Power in
the
Southern
Mediterranean will, due to the sun radiation intensity, likely be
produced
for a kilowatt
hour price significant below the price of a similar output produced in
a
Northern
European plant. In much of Northern Europe including Germany there is
a
price margin,
which may cater for the transportation expenditure.
This
requires feed-in tariffs in place, as a means to bolster the EU medium
term
energy
competitiveness and independence. Today, each member state decide on
issues such as feed-in tariffs for renewables, but there is an
overriding European
perspective and
I would be interested to listen to your reflexions as regards
possible
support schemes
at European level. I consider a more harmonised system of
national support schemes in Europe to be a good tool in the long run, if
it is
conceived well.
I see this as an important element for the Desertec project to gain
momentum. To put it in place, there is still some way to go. I wish to
open the
debate on this
question.
Desertec
will
undoubtedly benefit from a combination of more bilateral initiatives
and
industry efforts
to decrease the cost difference between Concentrated Solar Power,
Photovoltaic and Wind Energy. Or, let me slightly reformulate it:
making
Concentrated
Solar Power gradually, to put
it
o
n
a par with oil prices and wind
energy. Being an
important issue, the EU can assist the process through continued
emphasis on framework conditions; but the transformation itself is one
that you will
have to
spearhead!
Important possibilities for commercial transactions do exist, whereby
the Southern
countries can
build "joint projects" and "joint support schemes" with EU partners
and
which obviously
strengthens security of supply by opening-up sustainable import of
renewables from neighbouring countries. It is my belief that the
Northern European
countries, which
support Desertec, should more clearly announce their interest
in
importing green energy over the long term, including solar
energy.
The
Commission strategy to "decarbonise" the energy sector by 2050
mentioned
earlier will
provide the overall policy framework for this.
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
Let me conclude
by repeating that the European Commission shares the objectives
of the Desertec Initiative as it was presented to the European
Parliament in 2007.
We highly
welcome the support and the enthusiasm of the private companies from
the EU, Middle East and North Africa in creating dynamism and furthering
progress
in implementing
sustainable energy. We should make use of every natural resource
that has been given to us - to reach the sustainable energy supply
objective: solar,
wind, hydro,
even wave power in the future.
The
Desertec Industrial Initiative is a
forward-looking
initiative, and private sector financing is definitely key for
transformation to a low-carbon future, both in Europe and in
North-Africa.
We know
that not all the elements required for developing large solar plants in
the
Southern
Mediterranean are at hand today. But we also see very promising
pilot
projects –
notably the Ouarzazate project, from which we will all learn – and
we
know that the
list of issues to be addressed is limited. In fact, we have started
to
address them and
the European Union will support the work through its assistance
and research programmes. I am optimistic that our joint efforts will be
fruitful. We
have to start
concrete efforts now so that Desertec will work in the next 20
years.
It is
important to stress again that the Project has to be developed in
cooperation
with countries
of the region on an equal footing; it can not be imposed from the
outside.
Action
of the regulator and the policymakers at national, European and global
level
has to go hand
in hand with this initiative.
We have the
ambitious task that Desertec is accepted and promoted not only from
the business world but also from the political actors. This is a joint
project and
without the
political will to make it work both in the EU and in Northern Africa,
the
project cannot
fly. I am committed to work towards it together with my partners in
Northern Africa, the countries which constitute the extension to the
South of the EU
next to Spain
and Turkey. I will be happy to invite them to Brussels to pursue
this
dialogue in the
next six months. To pursue the same overall goals and have a
coordinated approach is vital to permit that both Europe and Northern
Africa
mutually benefit
from each other.
I wish
you a successful conference.