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1.

NER300 annual report 2020 [er] : administrative arrangement DG CLIMA deliverable 2.2.1. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

NER 300 is an EU funding programme for the demonstration of innovative renewable energy technologies at the pre-commercial stage. Projects have to submit annually to the European Commission relevant knowledge gained, which is assessed with a view to establishing whether the project has adequately complied with its obligations. This report summarises the key lessons learnt so far and the recommendations of the JRC on the knowledge gained and the lessons learnt.

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2.

Energy performance contracting in the public sector of the EU [er] : 2020. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

One mechanism for increasing the uptake of energy efficiency projects is Energy Performance Contracting (EnPC). A major advantage of the latter is its capacity to mobilize the private sector to provide finance, performance guarantees and sharing risks. The commitment of the public sector to renovating and improving the performance of its buildings is fundamental because the latter account for around 12% of the heated total floor space in the EU. EnPCs are also suitable and relevant for the renovation of public lighting. Increased potential could develop in the use of EnPC for renovating district heating systems, the adoption of renewables, and for the smartification of infrastructures. Moreover, this commitment is key because the public sector plays an exemplary role in the development of building renovation and energy efficiency markets and in the adoption of sustainable support mechanisms for the private sector to improve the energy performance in this sector too. The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) has been regularly reviewing the status and development of the energy service markets of the EU Member States since 2005. The present report builds on the previous knowledge developed in previous EC JRC reports, and uses the same methodology to investigate national and subnational markets in terms of their status, barriers, driving factors, best practices, and impact of EU support and policies during 2017-2019. Ultimately, it proposes a set of recommendations of relevance for EU policymaking in the context of renewed impetus to building renovation, energy performance and financial sustainability.

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3.

POINT review of industrial transition of Greece [er] : renewables, batteries and their applications in mobility, agriculture, shipping and defence. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

Countries and regions around the world are gearing up to make the industrial transitions that will be necessary to move towards sustainable production and consumption patterns. This report documents the findings of a review of industrial transition of Greece launched in 2019 in partnership with the Greek Ministry of Development and Investments, which follows the POINT (Projecting Opportunities for INdustrial Transitions) methodology of the JRC. The review explores some of the policy pathways that Greece might take as it moves from a dependence on fossil fuels to an economy that makes greater use of renewable sources of energy and exploits many of the opportunities that are arising in the production and use of batteries in the realms of transport and mobility, agriculture, shipping and defence.

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4.

Tracking EU citizens’ interest in EC priorities using online search data [er] : the European Green Deal. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

The European Green Deal is the most ambitious and challenging goal set by the European Commission. Aiming to make the European Union, the world’s second-largest economy, climate-neutral by 2050, the European Green Deal will transform EU societies and industries. To support the European Commission in this effort, the JRC created a set of indicators to monitor EU citizens’ interest in topics related to the European Green Deal both over time and across Member States and their regions. Using web searches, the JRC created two sets of indicators drawing from the six policy areas indicated by the European Commission. The first set of indicators captures online search data related to citizens’ behaviour in the context of the European Green Deal, such as their searches related to mobility, energy, waste and nutrition. The second set of indicators captures online search data on citizens’ awareness, such as those about pollution, clean energy, ecosystems and climate. Over the last five years, interest in green mobility has been slowly but steadily increasing. This is particularly true for individual and public transport. In 2020, the trend was heavily affected by the sanitary crisis. Google searches for public transport and shared mobility dramatically decreased without recovering to pre-pandemic levels. The increase in searches related to vegetarian and vegan food reflects the growing popularity of these dietary choices. Indeed, European average meat consumption, which now stands at about 69 kilograms per capita per year, is expected to fall by a kilogram over the next ten years according to the EU agricultural outlook. In 2020, confinement measures due to the pandemic caused a huge drop in energy demand and delayed new renewable energy sources installations. Despite that, Google searches on renewable energy sources reached the highest interest in May this year. Among the topics in sub-dimensions related to clean energy, solar energy is the mostsearched one. Searches for topics related to pollution have been mostly stable over the last few years. The pandemic brought an unexpected positive outcome by increasing the awareness of air pollution and its negative consequences, and early evidence suggests that this effect will not be short-lived. Searches related to climate change peaked towards the end of 2016. This peak comes shortly after the entry into force of the Paris agreement. Another peak comes during the Global Week of Climate Action and shortly after Greta Thunberg’s speech at the United Nations Climate Action Summit on September 23rd 2019. The indicators can be used to obtain causal insights, both at the regional and national level. For example, searches for low-emission vehicles in Italy surged following the implementation, by regional authorities, of economic incentives to replace old and high-emission cars. Searches for public transport instead dropped during the pandemic, not only as a result of containment measures but also because of self-imposed cautionary measures.

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5.

Ocean energy [er] : technology development report. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2020.

Summary

The purpose of this report is to provide an assessment of the state of the art of ocean energy technology, to identify their development need and barriers and to define areas for further R&D in order to meet announced deployment targets and EU policy goals. The analysis focuses primarily on tidal and wave energy technology, considering their potential to provide a significant contribution to the European energy mix in the coming years. In order to undertake the different tasks set out for this report, different approaches have been employed, based primarily on in-depth literature reviews, expert judgements, existing KPIs identified by the sector, employment of technology specific database, collection of techno-economic information and analysis of the information collected to provide an unbiased assessment of the ocean energy sector.

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6.

Ocean energy : technology development report. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

The purpose of this report is to provide an assessment of the state of the art of ocean energy technology, to identify their development need and barriers and to define areas for further R&D in order to meet announced deployment targets and EU policy goals. The analysis focuses primarily on tidal and wave energy technology, considering their potential to provide a significant contribution to the European energy mix in the coming years. In order to undertake the different tasks set out for this report, different approaches have been employed, based primarily on in-depth literature reviews, expert judgements, existing KPIs identified by the sector, employment of technology specific database, collection of techno-economic information and analysis of the information collected to provide an unbiased assessment of the ocean energy sector.

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7.

Heat and power from biomass [er] : technology development report 2020. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

This Technology Development Report for Heat and Power from Biomass is an update to the version produced in 2016. The RES II includes reinforced EU sustainability criteria for bioenergy to cover biofuels but also biomass and biogas for heat and power that include GreenHouse Gas (GHG) savings compared to fossil fuels, the avoidance of deforestation or degradation of habitats or loss of biodiversity. In addition, biofuels and bioenergy from forest materials must comply with requirements which mirror the principles contained in the EU Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) Regulation. The sustainability criteria also include requirements to ensure high conversion efficiency of biomass into energy, the efficient use of limited resources and to avoid negative impacts on other (competitive) uses. The EU sustainability criteria are extended to cover solid biomass and biogas used in large heat and power plants (above 20 MW fuel capacity) and delivers at least 80% fewer GHG emission compared to fossil fuels by 2021 and 85% less by 2026. Large-scale new biomass electricity plants (above 20 MW) will need to use high efficient Combined Heat and Power (CHP) technology, reaching efficiencies above 80% (this criterion does not apply in case of risks to the security of electricity supply).

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8.

Heat and power from biomass : technology development report 2020. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

This Technology Development Report for Heat and Power from Biomass is an update to the version produced in 2016. The RES II includes reinforced EU sustainability criteria for bioenergy to cover biofuels but also biomass and biogas for heat and power that include GreenHouse Gas (GHG) savings compared to fossil fuels, the avoidance of deforestation or degradation of habitats or loss of biodiversity. In addition, biofuels and bioenergy from forest materials must comply with requirements which mirror the principles contained in the EU Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) Regulation. The sustainability criteria also include requirements to ensure high conversion efficiency of biomass into energy, the efficient use of limited resources and to avoid negative impacts on other (competitive) uses. The EU sustainability criteria are extended to cover solid biomass and biogas used in large heat and power plants (above 20 MW fuel capacity) and delivers at least 80% fewer GHG emission compared to fossil fuels by 2021 and 85% less by 2026. Large-scale new biomass electricity plants (above 20 MW) will need to use high efficient Combined Heat and Power (CHP) technology, reaching efficiencies above 80% (this criterion does not apply in case of risks to the security of electricity supply).

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9.

National energy and climate plans for 2021-2030 under the EU energy union [er] : assessment of the energy efficiency dimension. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2020.

Summary

The Energy Union strategy ―built on the dimensions of energy security, internal energy market, energy efficiency, decarbonisation, research, competitiveness and innovation― aims to ensure secure, sustainable, affordable and competitive energy for all its citizens and businesses in the midst of the ongoing energy transition. The 2030 climate and energy framework sets targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the share of renewable energy and improving energy efficiency. Under the Energy Union Governance Regulation, Member States were required to adopt integrated national energy and climate plans (NECPs) for the period 2021-2030, laying out their national contributions to the EU targets as well as their plans of accompanying policies and measures. This report represents the first of the series of reports assessing the energy efficiency dimension of the national energy and climate plans of EU Member States submitted under the Energy Union Governance. Building on past JRC assessments on energy efficiency in the frame of the 2020 policy, the report provides an evaluation of the national contributions towards the EU energy efficiency target in 2030 and presents an overview of all relevant policies and measures reported by the Member States in their plans. The implementation of key provisions of EU directives based on the information found in the NECPs is discussed, and recommendations on how to improve the future policy and reporting framework are provided. Whilst several positive developments have been identified in this analysis, the assessment has also highlighted the need to step up the ambition set by Member States, including the need to provide more robust evidence of the impact of proposed policies and actions against the various energy efficiency targets and requirements set in the context of EU directives.

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10.

ARTEFACTS [er] : how do we to deal with the future of our one and only planet? European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2019.

Summary

In the summer of 2017, the European Commission’s Science and Knowledge Service, the Joint Research Centre (JRC), decided to try working hand-in-hand with leading European science centres and museums. Behind this decision was the idea that the JRC could better support EU institutions in engaging with the European public. The fact that EU policies are firmly based on scientific evidence is a strong message which the JRC is uniquely able to illustrate. Such a collaboration would not only provide a platform to explain the benefits of EU policies to our daily lives but also provide an opportunity for European citizens to engage by taking a more active part in the EU policy-making process for the future. To test the idea, the JRC launched an experimental programme to work with science museums: a perfect partner for three compelling reasons. Firstly, they attract a large and growing number of visitors. Leading science museums in Europe have typically 500 000 visitors per year. Furthermore, they are based in large European cities and attract local visitors as well as tourists from across Europe and beyond. The second reason for working with museums is that they have mastered the art of how to communicate key elements of sophisticated arguments across to the public and making complex topics of public interest readily accessible. That is a high-value added skill and a crucial part of the valorisation of public-funded research, never to be underestimated. Finally museums are, at present, undergoing something of a renaissance. Museums today are vibrant environments offering new techniques and technologies to both inform and entertain, and attract visitors of all demographics.

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11.

Preparatory study for solar photovoltaic modules, inverters and systems [er] : final report. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2020.

Summary

As announced in the ‘European Green Deal’, decarbonisation of the EU energy system is crucial to reach Europe’s climate objectives. To this extent, a power sector largely based on renewable sources must be developed, complemented by a rapid phasing out of coal and by decarbonising gas. In particular, the Renewable Energy Directive 2018/2001/EU establishes a binding renewable energy target for the EU for 2030 of at least 32% of the Union’s gross final consumption in 2030, with an upwards revision clause by 2023. To reach that goal of 32%, the cumulative solar photovoltaic capacity in the EU and the UK would need to increase to 455–605 GW, corresponding to an increase of four times the current capacity in the EU. It is therefore imperative that newly installed photovoltaic products in the European Union do not create new future burdens on the environment. In this context, regulatory measures in the field of sustainable product policy will play an instrumental role ensuring the environmental sustainability of photovoltaics by improving their environmental performance as well as their energy yield, while reducing the overall life cycle environmental footprint. This preparatory study offers a comprehensive techno-economic and environmental assessment for photovoltaic products in order to provide policy makers with the evidence basis for assessing whether to implement four policy instruments: Ecodesign, Energy Label, Ecolabel and Green Public Procurement (GPP). It evaluates the feasibility of the application to solar photovoltaic modules, inverters and systems and their significance for the EU sustainable policy. The study comprises a comprehensive analysis of these three photovoltaic products using the Methodology for Ecodesign of Energy related Products, with the aim to develop a research evidence base to feed into decision making on the aforementioned policy instruments.

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12.

Implementing the SET plan [er] : making the set plan fit for the EU green recovery : 2020 report. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2020.

Summary

Through commonly agreed R&I priorities and targets for clean energy solutions, the SET Plan plays a key role in the delivery of the European Green Deal. The alignment of national R&I programmes with our common SET Plan agenda will make Europe a global leader of clean energy and energy efficiency technologies and thus contribute to EU’s growth strategy. The COVID-19 pandemic presents critical challenges, and many opportunities for the EU to boost the recovery towards a greener, more digital and more resilient Europe through the Next Generation EU initiative, and the SET Plan will deliver the necessary R&I agenda.

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13.

Implementing the SET plan : making the set plan fit for the EU green recovery : 2020 report. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2020.

Summary

Through commonly agreed R&I priorities and targets for clean energy solutions, the SET Plan plays a key role in the delivery of the European Green Deal. The alignment of national R&I programmes with our common SET Plan agenda will make Europe a global leader of clean energy and energy efficiency technologies and thus contribute to EU’s growth strategy. The COVID-19 pandemic presents critical challenges, and many opportunities for the EU to boost the recovery towards a greener, more digital and more resilient Europe through the Next Generation EU initiative, and the SET Plan will deliver the necessary R&I agenda.

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14.

Competitiveness indicators for low-carbon energy industries [er] : definitions, indicators and data sources. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2020.

Summary

The JRC, in the context of its support to the implementation of the Governance of the of the Energy Union, and in particular of the Research, Innovation and Competitiveness dimension and the preparation of the envisaged Competitiveness Report has been working on the identification of a set of indicators that could be used to assess the competitiveness of the EU low-carbon industry in a global context. This report presents a summary of definitions, indicators and metrics on competitiveness, and potential data sources that can be used for their quantification, based on ongoing work.

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15.

Wind and other CO2-free assets replacing coal in 2030 [er] : a scenario analysis based on the EUCO3232.5 scenario with the METIS model. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2020.

Summary

An up-to-date partial coal phase out scenario, based on the power system and prices defined in the EUCO3232.5 scenario for 2030 is analysed with the METIS power system model. Following the removal of coal and lignite fleets, in excess of half the capacity present in the EUCO scenario, the power system experiences more often power scarcity, primarily in the Central-West region of Europe. The study explores the potential of new wind capacity to fill the vacuum created by the coal fleet retirements both in energy and capacity terms. The conclusion of the previous similar study of 2018, that new wind capacity predominantly placed in peripheral regions of Europe (South-east, South-west and the North) has the potential to balance the system, is tested for multiple climatic years. The modelling analysis showed that new capacity consisting of 85 GW of additional wind power (compared to the EUCO3232.5) supported by additional infrastructure would be sufficient to restore adequacy. The additional infrastructure identified in this study consists of approximately 8.2 GW of batteries, very limited new peaking generation (up to 0.5 GW) and 53 GW of interconnection upgrades. The interconnector’s role as a definitive enabler, not only of market integration, but also of a path towards a renewables-based power system is strongly supported by the results. The identified transmission upgrades alone have the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of the European power system by more than a quarter, compared to the EUCO3232.5, with minimal additions of peaking capacity. The modelling results in a scenario variant, where no additional wind is added to the system, indicate that only an additional 4.2 GW of peaking capacity (OCGTs) and 14.8 GW of battery storage on top of the EUCO3232.5 capacities, would be sufficient to restore adequacy to the power system, following the assumed coal fleet decommissioning. In a second scenario used to benchmark the results, with no interconnection upgrades, we find that the flexible resource requirements rise sharply to 21 GW of battery storage and 22.3 GW of thermal peaking capacity. The cost of the additional infrastructure was estimated for all scenarios and benchmarked against the potential CO2 savings. Under the EUCO3232.5 fuel price assumptions, replacing coal with wind power would lead to an annual additional cost ranging between 1.9 and 4.5 € Billion, which corresponds to an incremental abatement cost between 7.4 and 18.2 €/tonne CO2 in 2030.

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16.

Enabling positive energy districts across Europe [er] : energy efficiency couples renewable energy. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2020.

Summary

This report aims to understand how to handle energy performance targets by moving beyond individual buildings towards a district level. This is a relatively new endeavour in both scientific research and realised projects. One route towards this could be to have the minimum energy performance requirements imposed by the EPBD also be applied to a cluster of buildings in a specific district. In practice, this means setting legal requirements that enable communities to become zero or positive energy districts (municipal or regional requirements). From a financial point of view, a zero-energy district (ZED) or positive energy district (PED) project needs to be investible whilst providing the municipality and district-dwellers with low-carbon solutions that provide co-benefits to the citizens and local authorities (such as, inter alia, better wellbeing and health, job creation, increased GDP and tourism). In order to assess potential cost and benefits, this paper finds the EPBD’s cost-benefit calculation methodology for the setting of minimum energy performance requirements can be utilised on a district scale by aggregating the individual buildings.

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17.

Fossil CO2 and GHG emissions of all world countries [er] : 2020 report. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication	Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2020.
Summary	The Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research provides emission time series from 1970 until 2019 for fossil CO2 for all countries. This report is contributing to the Paris Agreement process with an independent and quantitative view of global fossil CO2 emissions.

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18.

Fossil CO2 and GHG emissions of all world countries : 2020 report. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication	Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2020.
Summary	The Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research provides emission time series from 1970 until 2019 for fossil CO2 for all countries. This report is contributing to the Paris Agreement process with an independent and quantitative view of global fossil CO2 emissions.

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19.

The socio-economic impacts of the closure of the Groningen gas field [er] : challenges and opportunities of the energy transition. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2020.

Summary

During the year 2019 the DG Joint Research Centre offered scientific support to the Cities of Northern Netherlands in their transition towards the closure of the Groningen gas field. This study reports on the assessment of the regional socio-economic impacts deriving from the closure of the gas field planned by 2022. This analysis served as a framework for evaluating the impacts and as an information tool for the local authorities on how to plan the steps towards a successful transition and a new socio-economic development. Although the energy sector is not new to experiences such as the closure of big extracting facilities, the analysis of the impacts on the regional economy, employment and the energy sector remains a challenging task. The scientific literature does not provide with a tested universal approach to the study of these impacts. SWOT analysis, input-output models are the most common methodologies. To assess the regional socio-economic impacts of the closure of the gas field in Groningen we adopted at step-wise approach starting from the analysis of the decision of the Dutch government announced in 2018 and followed up in September 2019. We then study the natural gas value chain from the point of view of the business activities in the territory and the jobs at risk. Finally we analyse the opportunities set out in the energy development plans in place or announced by the local authorities. To complement the assessment of future possible developments in the region, we also took into account in the analysis other energy production potentials from clean sources and the opportunities of gas infrastructure reuse. The result of our work was presented at the final conference held in Leeuwarden in December 2019. The work helped the local authorities of the Northern Netherlands in defining a road map for the industrial and economic transition required to adapt to a situation in which no natural gas will be extracted.

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20.

Pv status report 2019 [er]. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2019.

Summary

Photovoltaics is a solar-power technology for generating electricity using semiconductor devices known as solar cells. A number of solar cells form a solar ‘module’ or ‘panel’, which can then be combined to form solar power systems, ranging from a few watts of electricity output to multi-megawatt power stations. Growth in the solar photovoltaic sector has been robust. The Compound Annual Growth Rate over the last decade was over 40 %, thus making photovoltaics one of the fastest growing industries at present. The PV Status Report provides comprehensive and relevant information on this dynamic sector for the interested public, as well as decision-makers in policy and industry.

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