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Content archived on 2024-05-14

Financing of renewable energy systems

Objective



Objectives
A large number of proven technical solutions exist for the use of renewable energies. However, their dissemination is still too slow to meet the political goal of substituting 8-15% of primary energy demand in the EU by the year 2010. Even renewable energy systems (RES) with economic potential are only partly exploited. There is a long literature concerning the barriers to renewable energy use. In particular it had become clear that the availability of finance and the forms and conditions upon which it is lent has a major impact on renewable energy deployment. An area of importance is the deficiency of appropriate ownership forms and properly adapted financing instruments in certain countries. Moreover, different regulations and institutional barriers in the European countries hinder the free flow of capital for RES within the European common market. However, solutions for establishing RES have been developed very successfully in individual countries. Differences in cultures and institutions have promoted growth of several approaches to RES investment. These differences can be understood as a European source of experience that constitutes a rich basis for transnational emulation.
FIRE will analyse and compare the means of financing RES in Austria, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom to put forward best practise recommendations so that renewable energy deployments will occur at a faster rate. The main tasks of this study are to:
- Analyse the means of financing RES in a number of countries. - Provide an analysis of best practise means of financing RES - Provide an analysis of the barriers to the implementation of these means in the investigated countries.
FIRE addresses politicians, potential investors and project-developers.
Technical Approach
Different types of financing RES will be analyzed in relation to the country-specific environment. This includes exogenous conditions such as tax aspects, legal restrictions and subsidies, as well as individually defined risk management strategies and collateral requirements. For each country the prevailing financial schemes will be identified by questioning national experts. Eight in-depth-case studies will be undertaken for each country. The influence of the exogenous conditions will be investigated with a cash-flow model. An advisory board with members of the financing sector is established to ensure practicability of the conclusions.
Expected Achievements and Exploitation
The cross-national comparison of experience will increase the transparency of the financial market for RES and help to foster understanding of socioeconomic parameters (such as cultural attitudes and national innovation systems) that induce mechanisms in the private capital market to allocate capital in RES. Conclusions of FIRE will be discussed in a policy seminar. On the basis of the findings national guidelines to project-developers might be developed.

Call for proposal

Data not available

Coordinator

GERMAN AEROSPACE CENTRE
EU contribution
No data
Address
Pfaffenwaldring 38-40
70569 STUTTGART
Germany

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Total cost
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Participants (7)