22.4.86 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 94/3 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council resolution on a Community orientation to develop new and renewable 
energy sources 
COM(86) 12 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 29 January 1986) 
(86/C 94/03) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaties establishing the European 
Communities, 
Having regard to the Commission communication on a 
Community orientation to develop new and renewable 
energy sources, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par­
liament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Having regard to the Council resolution of 9 June 1980 
concerning Community energy policy objectives for 1990 
and convergence of the policies of the Member States (x) 
and the communication from the Commission to the 
Council on new Community energy objectives for 
1995 O, 
Whereas in the Council resolution of 25 July 1983 on 
framework programmes for Community research, 
development and demonstration activities and a first 
framework programme for 1984 to 1987 (3), the 
development of renewable energy sources is considered 
to be one of the research, development and 
demonstration objectives which will achieve the 
Community aim of 'improving the management of 
energy resources'; 
Whereas the development of a Community energy 
strategy calls for a greater use of new and renewable 
energy sources; whereas greater exploitation of these 
sources will help achieve these objectives; 
Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 1972/83 (4) introduced a 
Community programme of financial support for 
demonstration projects in the field of alternative energy sources; whereas following a favourable assessment of 
this programme Regulation (EEC) No ... provided for it 
to be continued from 1986 to 1989; 
Whereas the energy research and development 
programmes adopted by Council Decisions 75/510/ 
EEC (') and 79/785/EEC (6) have produced positive 
results and opened up promising prospects of achieving 
the objectives pursued; whereas a new programme for 
1985 to 1988 was adopted by the Council on 12 March 
1985; 
Whereas the measures started now to develop the use of 
new and renewable sources of energy offer a guarantee 
of greater security of energy supplies for the Community 
in the long term; 
Whereas Community and national research, development 
and demonstration programmes should gradually provide 
appropriate technologies to exploit new and renewable 
energy sources; 
Whereas, in addition to these programmes, although it 
should be remembered that new and renewable energy 
sources are often dependent on local conditions and the 
interest in their exploitation varies throughout the 
Community, there must be a degree of balance in their 
development to avois disparate and divergent efforts; 
Whereas to ensure greater coherence a common orien­
tation to develop new and renewable energy sources 
should therefore be adopted by using instruments of 
cooperation and, if necessary, coordinating national 
actions to achieve greater coherence and to introduce 
Community measures where needed, 
(') OJNoC 149, 18.6. 1980, p. 1. 
O COM(85) 245,22.5. 1985. 
O OJNoC208, 4. 8. 1983, p. 1. 
(4) OJ No L 195, 19. 7. 1983, p. 6. (s) OJNoL231,2. 9. 1975, p. 1. 
(6) OJ No L 231, 16. 9. 1979, p. 30. 
No C 94/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 22.4.86 
1. takes note of the Community orientation to develop 
new and renewable energy sources and in particular 
the measures and resources foreseen under the orien­
tation proposed by the Commission; 
2. calls on the Member States to assist the Commission 
in the implementation of this orientation; 
3. takes note of the Commission's intention to set up a 
working party of experts on the development of new 
and renewable energy sources comprising prominent 
members of the scientific and industrial community. 
This working party's function will be to assist the 
Commission in defining and implementing measures 
under this orientation, to promote them in the 
Member States and to exchange information which 
will encourage greater use of new and renewable 
energy sources; 
4. agrees that Member States should exchange more 
information on the development of the exploitation of 
new and renewable energy sources through greater 
cooperation and, if necessary, ensure coordination at 
Community level, and calls upon the Commission to 
submit a proposal to this effect; calls on the Member States to examine the need to set 
up agencies to promote the use of new and renewable 
energy sources and to assist, at local level in 
particular, contracting public authorities, local auth­
orities and small and medium-sized businesses in 
planning feasibility studies and with the technical and 
financial aspects of implementing projects to exploit 
these sources; 
agrees that there is a need to set up a system for the 
collection and dissemination of information on the 
exploitation of new and renewable energy sources in 
the Community and calls upon the Commission to 
continue and develop its work under the 
demonstration programme and to examine the 
possibility of setting up a suitable system for collecting 
statistics on these sources; 
calls upon the Commission to report to it on a regular 
basis on the development of the exploitation of new 
and renewable energy sources in Member States and 
on the implementation of the orientation; 
takes note of the fact that the Commission will submit 
appropriate proposals to the Council. 
ANNEX 
NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES 
Applications, state of the art, innovation, economic factors, barriers 
The following is a collection of information sheets for each of the new and renewable energy sources in 
question, giving details of: 
(a) applications; 
(b) the state of the art, technological success and innovations expected or being worked on; 
(c) economic aspects (including production costs, competitiveness and financing); 
(d) any legal, financial, technical or environmental obstacles to their development. 
SOLAR ENERGY (SE) — THERMAL 
(a) Applications — space heating and cooling, 
— water heating (domestic, industrial, agricultural). 
(b) State of the art 
— Active: most common application of thermal solar energy is water heating converting an average of 
30 % of incident energy into sensible heat at 30 to 60 °C. Conversion may also take place at 
temperatures 80 to 120 °C which are used to drive cooling systems, provide industrial process heat 
or space heating. 
22.4. 86 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 94/5 
Space heating systems are more complex than systems for heating water. Air rather than water may 
be used as the thermal fluid in the collector systems; areas of 30 to 60 m2 can cover up to 10 to 25 
MWh/year of domestic heating loads or even more in the case of solar absorber assisted heat pumps; 
heat storage capacities vary from a few hours to one or two days. Such systems can be rather 
expensive and have rarely been economic in comparison with conventional systems; furthermore, 
the reliability and life of the equipment have not yet been proven in all countries, 
— Passive: work in the field amounts to ensuring that a new building's configuration or the retro­
fitting of existing buildings is such that the sun's rays can be used to the greatest advantage. 
Efficient passive design aims at capturing as much solar energy as possible and then not losing it. 
(c) Economic aspects 
— Thermal: generally speaking the installed price of water heater systems range from 260 to 580 
ECU/m2; these are clearly on the verge of becoming economic in Northern Europe and are already 
an attractive economic proposition in Southern Europe, 
— Passive: intelligent passive constructions combined with storage, good insulation and also with 
smaller active systems are promising. Total energy savings of more than 60 % can be achieved 
compared to conventional solutions giving reasonable amortization periods. 
(d) Barriers 
— Legislative: elimination of legal obstacles creating distortions or disparities in the development of 
the thermal solar market, 
— Economic: solar collectors represent a significant investment which often results in long pay-back 
times; especially in northern latitudes costs must come down, 
— Technical: matching energy needs and the availability of sunshine is a crucial problem, the solution 
to which may be found in thermal energy storage systems. These are, however, still being 
developed and as yet are neither efficient nor economic, 
— Attitudes: the expectations of consumers and utilities play an important role; the former require 
better conditions before investing in solar devices; utilities' influence on the market depends on 
their effort devoted to R & D and the fiscal climate. 
SOLAR ENERGY (SE) — PHOTOVOLTAIC 
(a) Applications — production of electricity for remote villages, lighting, pumping, communications, 
cathodic protection, isolated housing. 
(b) State of the art 
Photovoltaic conversion of solar energy to an electric current is still more expensive than conventional 
means. However, costs are falling and the convenience of simple, reliable and relatively easily main­
tained plant producing energy without pollution is a key factor for many applications. 
Storage batteries or other similar sub-systems are generally required owing to the fact that PV systems 
(as with any other solar system) can only work 20 to 30 % of the total time. Other controls are needed 
in the case of connection to the grid. 
At present, PV technology is more or less proven as far as the production of materials, mainly silicon 
(mono- and polycrystalline or amorphous), is concerned. 
(c). Economic aspects 
Mid-term (to 1988) the world-wide market for PV will increase from 55 million ECU to c. 300 million 
ECU and the international free market will attain an average growth of about 50 %. During this 
period costs will decrease if there is a significant technological evolution with the introduction of new 
materials, an evolution in manufacturing and an expansion of the market. 
No C 94/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 22.4.86 
(d) Barriers 
— Legislative: elimination of legal obstacles creating distortions or disparities in the development of 
the photovoltaic energy market, 
— Economic: with the exception of specific applications in remote places PV costs are far from being 
economic although a substantial decrease is foreseen for the next decade; the decrease will depend 
to a great extent on the R&D effort, 
— Technical: similar to thermal applications where the matching of energy needs and the availability 
of sunshine is a crucial problem, 
— Attitudes: again as in thermal the expectations of consumers and utilities play an important role. 
BIOMASS AND ENERGY FROM WASTE (BM) 
(a) Applications — harvesting of biomass, 
— energy cropping, 
— treatment of waste, 
— production and utilization of biogas, 
— production and utilization of refuse-derived fuels (RDF), 
— production of heat and energy by direct combustion, 
— production of gas, oil and coal by gasification and pyrolysis, 
— composting, 
— production of fuels and chemicals, 
— production of proteins. 
(b) State of the art 
The degree of technological progress varies according to the type of applications in question. 
Techniques such as direct combustion of agricultural and forestry waste and the production of biogas 
from controlled tips (landfills) or effluent from the agro-food industry, for example, have'reached an 
advanced technological stage. Other technologies such as gasification or pyrolysis are not always 
sufficiently reliable. Some technologies such as energy cropping have not yet been fully demonstrated. 
Bio-ethanol could play a role in the removal of lead in petrol and its partial replacement by oxygenated 
components, and research, development and demonstration should be undertaken into the conversion 
of agricultural raw materials to obtain a more efficient and more economical production technology. 
(c) Economic aspects 
Not only does the degree of technological progress vary according to the type of application but the 
prospects of economic return also vary. 
The two technologies described above, which are the most advanced, are also most likely to have the 
best economic return. For other technologies the economics have yet to be substantially improved, e.g. 
by reducing capital costs. , 
One point which should be noted is that waste is usually very cheap, and in some cases even free, but 
the cost may rise rapidly if there is a sudden increase in demand. This price uncertainty must be taken 
into account in calculating the economic return for projects in this sector. 
(d) Barriers 
— Legislative: transport aspects and sale of gas/electricity, new environmental protection legislation. 
— Financial: investment and management costs, which are often very high, may be an obstacle to 
wider application in view of the high risks involved in new technology projects or new markets, 
22.4.86 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 94/7 
Technological: efficient and economic technologies have not been proven for some of the 
applications described. There are also problems involved in the collection, storage and handling of 
waste. Optimum use of the energy produced, e.g. biogas on farms, may be very difficult to realize, 
Other: for the transformation of waste to combustible products, compost or other products, 
commercialization may be difficult because of the variability of the output. It is essential to ensure 
that these products can (regularly and in the long term) be absorbed by a competitive and changing 
market. 
GEOTHERMAL ENERGY (GE) 
(a) Applications — electricity generation, 
— combined heat and power production (CHP), 
— space heating and domestic hot water production, 
— heating of greenhouses, pisciculture and aquaculture, 
— heat for industrial processes. 
(b) State of the art 
— Underground: drilling techniques are similar to those used for oil exploration. The same applies to 
the prior geological exploration phase which is vital for optimum drilling planning and operation, 
the detection of geothermal reservoirs and, particularly, for well completion and pumping. These 
technologies which have become commonplace in the oil industry do not readily lend themselves to 
the exploitation of geothermal resources which have faster flow rates and corrosive fluids which 
cause scaling and which are often in urban areas. 
Progress has been made recently by virtue of the R&D and demonstration programmes 
undertaken but further efforts must be made to consolidate a specific geothermal energy industry. 
Some promising techniques, e. g. horizontal drilling and turbo pumps, should shortly bring about a 
significant improvement in operating conditions for geothermal reservoirs. Particular efforts must 
be concentrated on the problems of reinjection. In the longer term, economically-acceptable 
techniques will have to be developed for heat extraction from hot dry rocks. Efforts must be 
commensurate with the potential benefits. 
— Surface: the current techniques used to exploit geothermal fluids which have low salt and gas 
content are satisfactory. Further progress must be made to make equipment (exchangers, pumps, 
separators, etc.) more reliable for use in reservoirs with a high saline content, particularly at high 
temperatures. Special efforts must be made to optimize equipment (heat pumps, heating systems, 
etc.) for use in reservoirs of low to very low temperatures. This will increase the number of 
geothermal reservoirs in the Community which can be exploited and reduce drilling risks. 
(c) Economic aspects 
Geothermal energy has high investment costs and low operating costs. This means that its price can 
eventually be reduced compared with other rival energy sources. A major share of investment costs 
(drilling), which may be as much as 50 % or more of total costs, is accounted for by risk investment. If 
the fluid discovered can be exploited, however, the price of geothermal energy can be comparable to 
that of the energy sources it replaces. 
Financial criteria (financing conditions, guarantees, etc.) play a major role in the decision to undertake 
a geothermal project in view of the geological risks involved and the large amount of initial capital 
which has to be found. The payback time varies according to the type of project, between five and 15 
years in most cases. 
(d) Barriers 
— Legislative: in their present form national mining laws are not, in most cases, appropritate to 
promote the exploration and exploitation of geothermal reserves, 
— Financial: specific financial structures are required to cover initial mining risks and these do not yet 
exist, 
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— Technological: drilling and exploitation equipment has not yet been sufficiently developed for fluids 
(particularly those with a high energy content) which have particular chemical properties. The 
problems of reinjection in certain types of reservoirs have not yet been fully overcome, 
— Administrative: a geothermal project is a complex operation to mount and requires a whole range 
of expertize. The necessary structure to provide legal, administrative or financial assistance to 
developers and local authorities does not yet exist. 
WIND ENERGY (WE) 
(a) Applications — supply of electricity to isolated sites, 
— large-scale electricity generation, 
— heating and cooling, 
— water pumping, desalination, maritime transport. 
(b) State of the art and economic aspects 
— Supply of electricity to isolated sites: electricity generation is already competing with diesel systems in 
windy areas (islands, coastal and mountainous areas). Energy storage has to be used to ensure 
supply. In the present state of the art, wind systems cannot replace diesel systems; they may, 
however, be used to make significant fuel savings, 
— Large-scale electricity generation: significant technological progress over the past few years should 
make wind energy economic in the short term. In the medium term, it could provide a large pro­
portion of many countries' electricity supply. By the year 2000 wind energy could satisfy a 
significant share of electricity demand in coastal regions and islands. Large wind power stations of 
up to 7 MW would be connected up to the grids. When there is little wind, thermal power stations 
would ensure continuity of supply, 
— Heating and cooling: wind energy can easily be converted into thermal energy by means of a 
mechanical, hydraulic or electric converter. These systems are of some interest in rural and par­
ticularly cold areas where there is a correlation between wind and heating requirements. The same 
applies to hot water production and drying of agricultural produce. Wind energy may also be used 
for cooling either by means of conversion into electricity or direct coupling to a heat pump or 
compressor, 
— Water pumping: in the past, conventional multiblade turbines have been used but new lighter 
turbines which are easier to build and are more efficient have recently been designed. These are 
more suitable for rural usages, particularly in developing countries, they can be built locally and 
achieve significant energy savings. They are not yet in widespread use owing to the lack of 
intensive site testing, 
— Desalination: desalination can be carried out by reverse osmosis using high-pressure pumps driven 
by wind energy. The water obtained may be half as expensive as that obtained by solar distillation 
in the same arid region, 
— Maritime transport: thanks to new techniques, new materials and automation, wind energy might be 
used in conjunction with more conventional methods of propulsion. 
(c) Barriers 
— Legislative: elimination of legal barriers which hinder or create distortions or disparities in the 
development of the wind energy market, 
— Technological: there should be greater cooperation between national wind test centres on technical 
approval of wind turbines, 
— Administrative: technical assistance should be provided for information and the training of 
specialists, particularly for developing countries. 
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LOW POWER HYDROELECTRICITY (HY) 
(a) Applications — generation of electricity from low-power and low-head hydroelectric resources. 
(b) State of the art 
Technological development of high-power hydroelectric plants has already peaked, and there is 
unlikely to be any major changes in technical design or costs. Low-power hydroelectricity cannot, 
however, be designed as a scaled-down version of a larger plant. It is precisely for small hydroelectric 
schemes that innovation is most needed not only to reduce costs but also to guarantee reliability and 
simplicity of operation: 
— Electro-mechanical equipment: innovation needs to centre on standardization, particularly for 
hydraulic equipment design (electric equipment is already standardized), 
— Engineering: it must be shown that compact, factory-assembled plants which require minimum 
engineering work on site can be provided, 
— Operating techniques: electronic regulation equipment has been developed solely for small plants (of 
less than 100 kW); such equipment is needed for larger plants. Automatic control devices which are 
already used in small plants must also be developed for larger plants in order to reduce staff costs, 
which form a greater part of the annual budgets. Greater research into and testing of its use with 
other energy sources is needed to ensure optimum exploitation of multi-energy systems. 
(c) Economic aspects 
Specific construction costs for small plants vary between 1 500 and 3 000 ECU per kW depending on 
the type of plant and necessary engineering work. These are much higher than the specific costs of 
large nuclear or coal-fired plants and must therefore be reduced (see 'State of the art'). Operating costs 
derive almost solely from staff costs, hence the need for automatic control of small hydroelectric 
plants. It should, however, be remembered that even if a project proves economically acceptable the 
main considerations will continue to be flexibility and stability vis-a-vis the national electricity 
generation/distribution network. 
(d) Barriers 
— Legislative: elimination of barriers to the development of low-power hydroelectricity (simplification 
and speeding up of authorization procedures, while continuing to assure adequate environmental 
protection, harmonization or alignment of thresholds at which licences can be granted), 
— Financial: investment costs are high, including the feasibility study, and require special financing 
arrangements, particularly for local authorities and small businesses, 
— Technological: it must be proved that modular systems can be installed and run on a satisfactory 
economic basis; reliable voltage and frequency control systems must be developed, as must multi-
energy systems (wind, diesel, etc.), 
— Other: relations between operators of small hydroelectric plants and public electricity producers 
(sale and purchase of energy, regulation, etc.) must be stable. 
ENERGY FROM THE SEA (OTEC, WAVE, TIDAL) 
(a) Applications — electricity generation, 
— fresh water production, 
— energy-intensive industrial complexes. 
(b) State of the art 
— OTEC: although the technical feasibility of OTEC has been proved in several Japanese 100 kW 
land-based prototypes and American 1 MW sea-based prototypes, a 5 to 10 MWe demonstration 
plant which would be commensurate with the market of the first power stations to compete with 
diesel systems has yet to be built. The aim of such a project would be to demonstrate the best 
large-surface exchangers, large steam turbines and large-diameter cold-water tubing available, 
No C 94/10 Official Journal of the European Communities 22.4.86 
— Wave: although a large number of designs are usable no large or medium-sized plant has yet been 
tested at sea even in the form of a prototype. The uncertainties which still surround some systems 
using conventional technologies could be overcome by building demonstration plants; it should, 
however, be noted that an optimum energy conversion system has not yet been developed, and 
R&D work still has to be carried out, 
— Tidal: the United Kingdom is the only Member State to have any tidal projects, on the Severn and 
Mersey. Techniques for closing off estuaries and turbo-alternator systems have been developed. 
(c) Economic aspects 
— OTEC: like other renewable energy sources OTEC requires vast capital. For medium-sized plants 
(10 to 50 MWe) the scale factor is important. The importance of exchangers and cold water pipes 
should also be noted. For large-scale plants (over 100 MWe) the energy they produce may become 
competitive with other base-load electricity sources such as nuclear and coal. Small plants will only 
become competitive with diesel systems above 10 MWe; 
— Wave: economic forecasts are encouraging showing that the initial medium-sized plants could be 
competitive in isolated areas where energy costs are high, 
— Tidal: the cost per kWh is between that of coal-fired and nuclear power stations; however, 
investment in tidal projects will be attractive in the long term since it will make fuel savings possible 
and help to diversify energy production sources. 
(d) Barriers 
— Technological: equipment has not yet been proved to be reliable on an industrial scale and R&D 
work still has to be carried out on components (excluding tidal projects), 
— Financial: cooperation between commercial banks and international agencies is required to promote 
cofinancing in view of the large amount of capital needed, 
— Administrative: promotion, training and dissemination of information, particularly to international 
financial institutions, are required.