Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time.
District heating is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location through a system of insulated pipes for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating and water heating. The heat is often obtained from a cogeneration plant burning fossil fuels or biomass, but heat-only boiler stations, geothermal heating, heat pumps and central solar heating are also used, as well as heat waste from factories and nuclear power electricity generation. District heating plants can provide higher efficiencies and better pollution control than localized boilers. According to some research, district heating with combined heat and power (CHPDH) is the cheapest method of cutting carbon emissions, and has one of the lowest carbon footprints of all fossil generation plants.
Micro combined heat and power, micro-CHP, µCHP or mCHP is an extension of the idea of cogeneration to the single/multi family home or small office building in the range of up to 50 kW. Usual technologies for the production of heat and power in one common process are e.g. internal combustion engines, micro gas turbines, stirling engines or fuel cells.
Renewable energy plays an important and growing role in the energy system of the European Union. The Europe 2020 strategy included a target of reaching 20% of gross final energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020, and at least 32% by 2030. The EU27 reached 22% in 2020 and 23% in 2022, up from 9.6% in 2004. These figures are based on energy use in all its forms across all three main sectors, the heating and cooling sector, the electricity sector, and the transport sector.
Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity and/or heat from the primary treatment of waste, or the processing of waste into a fuel source. WtE is a form of energy recovery. Most WtE processes generate electricity and/or heat directly through combustion, or produce a combustible fuel commodity, such as methane, methanol, ethanol or synthetic fuels, often derived from the product syngas.
A sustainable community energy system is an integrated approach to supplying a local community with its energy requirements from renewable energy or high-efficiency co-generation energy sources. The approach can be seen as a development of the distributed generation concept.
The energy policy of the European Union focuses on energy security, sustainability, and integrating the energy markets of member states. An increasingly important part of it is climate policy. A key energy policy adopted in 2009 is the 20/20/20 objectives, binding for all EU Member States. The target involved increasing the share of renewable energy in its final energy use to 20%, reduce greenhouse gases by 20% and increase energy efficiency by 20%. After this target was met, new targets for 2030 were set at a 55% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 as part of the European Green Deal. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU's energy policy turned more towards energy security in their REPowerEU policy package, which boosts both renewable deployment and fossil fuel infrastructure for alternative suppliers.
A Guarantee of Origin is an energy certificate defined in article 19 of the European Directive 2018/2001/EC. A GO certifies attributes of electricity, gas, heating and cooling, especially coming from renewable sources and provides information to energy customers on the source of their energy. Guarantees of Origin are the only defined instruments evidencing the origin of electricity generated from renewable energy sources.
The European Energy Certificate System (EECS) is an integrated European framework for issuing, transferring and cancelling EU energy certificates. It was developed by the Association of Issuing Bodies to provide a properly regulated platform for Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin, as proposed by the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED). EECS supports all types of energy, regardless of source or production technology.
Environmental issues in the European Union include the environmental issues identified by the European Union as well as its constituent states. The European Union has several federal bodies which create policy and practice across the constituent states.
The German National Renewable Energy Action Plan is the National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) for Germany. The plan was commissioned under EU Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC which required member states of the European Union to notify the European Commission with a road map. The report describes how Germany plans to achieve its legally binding target of an 18% share of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption of energy by 2020.
The Finland National Renewable Energy Action Plan is the National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) for Finland. The plan was commissioned by the Directive 2009/28/EC which required Member States of the European Union to notify the European Commission with a road map. The report describes how Finland planned to achieve its legally binding target of a 38% share of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption of energy by 2020.
The France National Renewable Energy Action Plan is the National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) for France. The plan was commissioned by the Directive 2009/28/EC which required Member States of the European Union to notify the European Commission with a road map. The report describes how France planned to achieve its legally binding target of a 23% share of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption of energy by 2020.
Renewable energy has developed rapidly in Italy over the past decade and provided the country a means of diversifying from its historical dependency on imported fuels. Solar power accounted for around 8% of the total electric production in the country in 2014, making Italy the country with the highest contribution from solar energy in the world that year. Rapid growth in the deployment of solar, wind and bio energy in recent years lead to Italy producing over 40% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2014.
Denmark is a leading country in renewable energy production and usage. Renewable energy sources collectively produced 75% of Denmark's electricity generation in 2022, and are expected to provide 100% of national electric power production from 2030. Including energy use in the heating/cooling and transport sectors, Denmark is expected to reach 100% renewable energy in 2050, up from the 34% recorded in 2021.
Biofuels play a major part in the renewable energy strategy of Denmark. Denmark is using biofuel to achieve its target of using 100% renewable energy for all energy uses by 2050. Biofuels provide a large share of energy sources in Denmark when considering all sectors of energy demand. In conjunction with Denmark's highly developed renewable energy resources in other areas, biofuels are helping Denmark meet its ambitious renewable energy targets.
The Energy Efficiency Directive 2012/27/EU is a European Union directive which mandates energy efficiency improvements within the European Union. It was approved on 25 October 2012 and entered into force on 4 December 2012. The directive introduces legally binding measures to encourage efforts to use energy more efficiently in all stages and sectors of the supply chain. It establishes a common framework for the promotion of energy efficiency within the EU in order to meet its energy efficiency headline target of 20% by 2020. It also paves the way for further improvements thereafter.
A consumer green energy program is a program that enables households to buy energy from renewable sources. By allowing consumers to purchase renewable energy, it simultaneously diverts the utilization of fossil fuels and promotes the use of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.
The Energy Taxation Directive or ETD (2003/96/EC) is a European directive, which establishes the framework conditions of the European Union for the taxation of electricity, motor and aviation fuels and most heating fuels. The directive is part of European Union energy law; its core component is the setting of minimum tax rates for all Member States.
