The European Union's White paper has clearly stated the strategic dimension that renewable sources of energy will have, in the share of the Union's future electricity production. Various causes are pushing for such developments amongst which, the depletion of fossil fuels, the heavy dependency of the European Union on their supply and the consequences of global climate changes aggravated by a growing need for electricity worldwide.
In its energy projections of January 2003 (Trends to 2030 ) updated in 2007, the EU Energy and Transport Directorate has predicted that in the year 2030 Wind Energy alone would represent 135 GW of electric capacity generation or 12% of overall EU capacity. In early 2009 however, 65 GW of wind energy were already installed in Europe from under 13 GW in the year 2000 (2% of EU capacity). These earlier predictions were made assuming that NO specific new environmental policies and measures aimed at meeting Kyoto targets in 2008-2012 and possible more severe ones in the future are implemented over the projection period. This, they claim, would be a rather unlikely scenario to happen. In fact, the International Energy Agency has already predicted in its ' World Energy Outlook 2009 ' under the '450 scénario' of targeted emissions objectives leading to the Copenhagen Climate Conference, that close to 300 GW of wind energy would be installed on the european continent by 2030.
 Scarce vegetation in desert landscape, 80 miles from Tarfaya
Several EU directives, programs and incentives are aimed at diversifying, enhancing and optimizing the EU's energy security of supply. Financial guaranties may be even obtained for such projects that are similar to natural gas pipelines, which have created productive economic linkage between different partners.The German - Russian natural gas tube Business has set a constructive example for that matter. Wind energy will enable us to go way beyond this model and enable the development of a highly integrated sustainable energy industry, something that the Russian gas example, which has since shown its limits, has not been able to achieve. Energy diversification, sustainability and safeguarding the environment being key issues, current circumstances suggests that a cooperation with the states of North Africa is started, that would open the possibility of a new form of development policy, in which all partners can operate equally in supporting an integrated local manufacturing industry feeding into a lasting sustainable energy supply network. This policy option was clearly stated for the first time in the Union for the Mediterranean's Solar Plan unveiled in 2008 to cover all countries involved through local capacity building measures, support for local renewable energy projects and the subsequent building of adequate grid infrastructures. The Union for the Mediterranean's Solar Plan which refers to an integrated Euro-Mediterranean vision in the field of renewable energies, has certainly provided a new dimension to the European Union's Neighborhood policy. Historically, the European Union's MEDA program funded parts of the existing 700 MW undersea cable interconnection linking both continents through Spain and Morocco. This electrical interconnection run by bilateral agreements in place, has already been doubled (1400 MW) since and it is currently being expanded even further. This could at present time enable some wind generated electricity to be transported from the Sahara desert. Although the exisiting grid infrastructure extending to the Saharan region will prevent any larger transfers of electricity from this region to occur, the dedicated High Voltage Direct Current power line envisioned in the Sahara Wind Project is likely to make this sustainable energy alternative quite effective. |
Energy Policy 
