Title: A regional coordination framework for renewable energy policy in the European Union

Authors: Sharad B. Karmacharya, Laurens J. De Vries

Addresses: Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Energy and Industry Section, Jaffalaan 5, 2628 BX Delft, The Netherlands. ' Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Energy and Industry Section, Jaffalaan 5, 2628 BX Delft, The Netherlands

Abstract: In order to have a transparent market for renewable electricity in the European Union (EU), it is necessary to track the flow of renewable electricity. With this in mind, the European Commission introduced a concept called |Guarantee of Origin| in Directive 2001/77/EC. However, the principle of subsidiarity – that policy is made by the lowest competent authority – turned out to be in conflict with the goal of a transparent and competitive market for renewable electricity. The diverging interests of the member states and a crude definition of guarantees of origin in the directive led to diverging implementations of the renewable energy policy in EU. This paper proposes a roadmap for regional coordination of renewable energy policy through the use of guarantees of origin as a standardised tracking mechanism. The roadmap simultaneously uses a top-down and bottom-up approach to improve coordination.

Keywords: renewable energy; guarantees of origin; regional coordination; EU directives; European Union; member states; renewable electricity; green electricity; energy policy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2009.027147

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2009 Vol.39 No.1/2, pp.128 - 141

Published online: 16 Jul 2009 *

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