13 Oct (NucNet): The largest amounts of public support for energy in 2012 went to renewables, in particular to solar (€14.7 billion) and onshore wind (€10.1 billion), followed by biomass (€8.3 billion) and hydropower (€5.2 billion), a report released by the European Commission shows.
The interim report on “government interventions” in the power market of the European Union says that among conventional power generation technologies, coal received the largest amount in current subsidies in 2012 with €10.1 billion, followed by nuclear (€7 billion) and natural gas (about €5.2 billion).
The report shows that in 2012, the total value of public interventions in energy (excluding transport) in the EU was between €120-140 billion.
The report also presents figures on the cost competitiveness of the different power generation technologies.
The estimated ranges reflect costs of new power generation without public intervention, known as levelised costs.
Levelised costs for electricity range from around €20 per megawatt-hour (MWh) for hydropower to €200/MWh for offshore wind and biomass.
Costs for power from nuclear and natural gas are around €100/MWh.
Costs for producing one MWh of electricity from coal are around €75. Electricity from onshore wind is generated at around €80/MWh.
Solar power costs have “fallen considerably” since 2008 to about €100-115/MWh depending on the size of installations, the report says.
The EC’s vice-president for energy Günther Oettinger said Europe now has a set of data on subsidies and costs in the field of energy that is “more solid and comprehensive than anyone before”.
The report is online: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/studies/doc/20141013_subsidies_costs_eu_energy.pdf
