The Intelligent Energy- Europe Programme
The Scottish Government / Scottish European Green Energy Centre led on preparing and submitting a proposal for the Intelligent Energy - Europe 2009 Call for Proposals.
Scotland has world leading capability in renewable energy technologies, and a huge capability and ambitious targets for the generation of renewable energy. The Scottish Government has set a target for 50 per cent of the electricity generated in Scotland to come from renewable sources by 2020 (with an interim target of 31 per cent by 2011).
The Scottish Government is committed to developing networks and partnerships with like minded countries to promote the deployment of green energy technologies, and has established and opened the Scottish European Green Energy Centre to lead this work.
The Intelligent Energy- Europe Programme (IEE)
The objective of the IEE Programme is to contribute to secure, sustainable and competitively priced energy for Europe, by providing for action:
- To foster energy efficiency and the rational use of energy resources;
- To promote new and renewable energy sources and to support energy diversification;
- To promote energy efficiency and the use of new and renewable energy sources in transport.
In particular, the Programme is seeking concrete solutions which will lead to significant change, and, projects which can have an impact in the short term on energy and climate change targets
IEE projects involve:
- At least 3 partner organisations from 3 different eligible countries (EU member states, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Croatia)
- Maximum funding period 3 years
- Budget usually between € 0.5 - 2.5 million
- EU grant support up to 75 per cent of the total eligible costs
The Scottish Government has submitted the following project proposal to the 2009 Intelligent Energy for Europe Call for proposals, which will be taken forward by the Scottish European Green Energy Centre if approved:
Good practice in reconciling onshore and offshore wind with environmental objectives and community engagement (GPWIND)
The project will address barriers to the deployment of onshore and offshore wind generation, by developing good practice in reconciling objectives on renewable energy with wider environmental objectives and actively involving communities in planning and implementation.
The project is being undertaken by a consortium of partners from across Europe, led by the Scottish Government. By bringing together these partners from different countries, which include developers such as Scottish Power Renewables and Airtricity, regional and local government, environmental agencies and NGOs, experiences in the development and deployment of onshore and offshore wind energy will be shared and from this a guide to good practice and a 'how to' toolkit will be developed, which can be used to facilitate deployment of renewable energy in support of the 2020 targets.
The aim is to:
- Help increase the consenting rate for on and offshore wind projects, and reduce the processing period for applications; and
- Support the design, planning and implementation of projects which are sensitive to environmental and community concerns,
thereby assisting faster deployment of wind energy across Europe and the achievement of 2020 targets for renewable energy generation.
The outputs and recommendations of the project will focus mainly on wind energy, but we also anticipate that some of the same issues will apply to the development of wave and tidal energy, and the outputs and recommendations of the project will also prove valuable to the developing ocean energy sector.
The work will be based on surveys of key actors and stakeholder groups and a number of detailed case studies of onshore and offshore wind energy projects. This will identify market barriers and process failures that have resulted in projects not proceeding as well as examples of good practice which can be transferred to other regions and technologies. It will focus on environmental issues which are covered in wind farm applications, social issues and how to get local involvement and support for well prepared and acceptable wind projects. Case studies will be analysed and presented using a common methodology, which will allow for transnational comparison of results and examination of which approaches are suitable for transfer to other regions.
The detailed examination of the case studies, supported by peer review by partners from other regions with particular expertise and stakeholder consultation events, will lead to the creation of a best practice guide and 'how to' tool kit.
The key added European value from this proposal will be to demonstrate and disseminate good practice from individual countries to target audiences across Europe, providing tools which can be used by industry, developers, European, national and local policy makers, regulatory authorities, environmental agencies and groups and local communities to improve the policy, guidance, process and practice of dealing with applications for new renewable energy projects. A common methodology will be developed to ensure that the good practice focuses on solving practical problems and is valid despite differences in geography and administrative systems.
The guide to good practice and toolkit will be user friendly, easily disseminated in written and audio visual form, available on-line and translated into different EU languages. By concentrating on problem solving and practical experience, the best practice guide and the 'how to' toolkit will provide valuable tools for policy makers, developers and administrative authorities, communities and environmental bodies in reaching the 2020 objectives within the context of wider EU policy objectives.
Project partners come from Greece, Malta, Italy, Spain, Norway, Belgium, Ireland and Scotland and include organisations such as RSPB Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Western Isles Council and the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research. The project has the support of the UK Government's Department of Energy and Climate Change, The Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions and the European Wind Energy Association amongst others.
The project application has been submitted under the Intelligent Energy for Europe 2009 Call for proposals and a determination on the application is expected in December 2009.