European Parliament
Trends in the Solar Thermal Energy Markets in the USA and the EU (2007)
The following presentation from the LEV-ON Group to the Israel Energy Forum is from January 2007.
The presentation refers to the green paper submitted in September 2006 to the European Parliament by the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and includes information and statistics for trends, annual shipments, policies, initiatives and manufacturers regarding solar thermal energy and equipment for the U.S. and EU between the years 1996 to 2005.
Energy Directive Adopted by European Parliament
It's a great step forward acknowledging solar heating and cooling to be a key factor for climate protection: For the first time, heating and cooling is covered by an European Directive. The new Energy Directive was adopted with 634 votes in favour and only 25 against and 25 absent in the European Parliament at the 17th December 2008.
Proposal for a EU Directive on the Promotion of the Use of Energy from Renewable Sources
Published on 23 January 2008, the proposal mandates each member state to increase its share of renewable energies - such as solar, wind or hydro - in an effort to boost the EU's share from 8.5% today to 20% by 2020.
A separate target to increase biofuels use to 10% of transport fuel consumption is to be achieved by every country as part of the overall EU objective.
