EUREC welcomes H2020 energy tech agreement
The European Renewable Energy Research Centres Agency (EUREC) has described the deal on Horizon 2020 as a “good outcome for energy technology”.
According to EUREC, on an overall budget for Horizon 2020 of €68.1bn (constant 2011 prices), 7.7% will go to non-nuclear energy technology, which is equal to €5.2bn. The Council of the European Union, supported by the European Commission, had proposed 7.2% of the budget to go energy. The deal sees the final allocation much closer to European Parliament’s proposed share of 8.4%.
However, the Horizon 2020 proposal from the Commission has given no indication of how spending would be divided between technologies within the non-nuclear energy envelope. According to EUREC, the Commission claimed it wanted freedom to increase or decrease funding to different areas at its discretion. Yet MEPs have argued that the focus should be on technologies for renewable energy and energy end-use efficiency and the technologies to integrate renewables into the grid (smart grids, storage). They have required that Horizon 2020 “endeavour to [target] at least 85% of the budget [within the non-nuclear part of the energy societal challenge]” towards these areas.
Speaking about the final proposal, EUREC said it was “happy with the agreed text…however, it is not completely clear whether 85% is more or less than what is currently spent on these areas, so the phrase ‘at least’ is welcome, as is the Commission’s commitment to report ‘regularly’ on ‘progress’ towards an ‘increased share’.”
EUREC has also called for a change in the text which indicates that 15% of funding would be devoted “fossil-based technologies and development options, which are considered essential for reaching the 2050 vision”, describing it as ‘a slip of the pen’.
It’s understood that clarifications on these issues will appear in a declaration by the Commission, which will be annexed to the Horizon 2020 legislative texts.
