This document discusses the BETTER project, which aims to bring Europe and third countries closer together through renewable energies. It presents the objectives of assessing cooperation between the EU and third countries to help achieve renewable energy targets. Case studies will examine renewable energy cooperation opportunities between the EU, North Africa, Western Balkans and Turkey. The document outlines different cooperation mechanisms defined in the EU Renewable Energy Directive and provides an example case study of a joint hydroelectric project between Serbia and Italy. It also summarizes renewable energy potentials, targets and scenarios for several Western Balkan countries.

1. B RINGING E UROPE AND T HIRD COUNTRIES CLOSER
TOGETHER THROUGH RENEWABLE E NERGIES
The BETTER project
Andreas Tuerk, Dorian Frieden, JR
Robert Pasiscko, Zoran Kordic, UNDP
Zagreb, 09 December 2013

2. PROJECT PRESENTATION (2/2)
 CIEMAT (Spain)
Centro de Invest. Energ. Mediamb. Tecn
 DLR (Germany)
Deutsches Zentrum Für Luft-und raumfahrt e.V
 ECN (Netherlands)
Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands
 JOANNEUM (Austria)
Forshungsgesellschaft Mbh
 NTUA (Greece)
National Technical University of Athens
 OME (France)
Observatoire Méditerranéen de l’Energie
 PIK (Germany)
Postdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
 TUWIEN (Austria)
Vienna University of Technology
 UNDP (International)
United Nations Development Programme

3. PROJECT PRESENTATION (1/2)
 BETTER: Bringing Europe and Third countries closer together
through renewable Energies (BETTER);
 Intelligent Energy for Europe Programme, managed by the
Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (EACI);
 Started: 1st July 2012;
 Expected Completion Date: 1st January 2015;
 Coordinator: CIEMAT, Madrid
http://better-project.net

4. OBJECTIVES
Assess,
through
case
studies,
involvement and integrated analysis:
stakeholders
•to what extent cooperation with third countries can
help Europe achieve its RES targets in 2020 and
beyond
•trigger the deployment of RES electricity projects in
third countries and
•create synergies and win-win circumstances for all
involved parties.

5. Where can get the EU (green) energy from?

6. EU RES directive
• The RES Directive (2009/28/EC) sets binding national
2020 RES targets for all EU member states
• These targets do not explicitly reflect the national
resource availability
-> Its not about capacity extension only
but also on energy efficiency

7. Adoption of RES directive and RES
targets in the West Balkan countries

8. METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK
Case studies (N.Africa, W.Balkans and Turkey) will
investigate in detail the technical, socio-economic and
environmental aspects of RES cooperation.
Top -Down
COMMUNICATION AND
DISSEMINATION
• Detailed quantitative cost-benefit evaluation of
feasible policy approaches as well as power system
analysis (Green-X, HIREPs Models)
• Other possible “co-effects” (such as impacts on EU
climate targets, energy security and macro-economic
aspects).
Bottom -up
STAKEHOLDERS INVOLVEMENT
Integrated assessment will be undertaken from the
“EU plus third countries” perspective, including:

9. Motivation for cooperation mechanisms
Renewable energy targets are calculated based on:
• current RES share
• country GDP
Do not take into account renewable energy potentials!

10. Different options how to reach the targets
MS
domestically
RES
Directive ->
RES targets
WB
NREAP
(Renewable
energy
Action Plan)
Cooperation
mechanism
 most of the Member States plan to fulfill their renewable energy targets
domestically
 4 Member States namely France, Greece, Italy, and Spain noted in their
forecast documents that they may use cooperation mechanisms to develop
renewable energy in third countries

11. Basic principle of cooperation mechanisms
•
•
Cooperation mechanisms were introduced to allow countries with high renewable energy
potentials and/or low production costs (COUNTRY A) to sell their renewable energy surplus
to those countries that have either low renewable energy endowments and/or have higher
generation costs (COUNTRY B).
The main idea behind this is to reach the targets in a more cost-effectively way and to reduce
the overall costs in achieving it.
COUNTRY A
(low/expansive
RES potential)
Money transfer
RES transfer
COUNTRY B
(high/cheap
RES potential)

12. Types of cooperation mechanisms
Cooperation Mechanisms are defined in Directive 2009/28/EC as followed:
•
Statistical transfers between MS (Article 6)
•
Joint projects between MS (Article 7 and 8)
•
Joint projects between MS and third countries, under the condition that RES electricity is imported to the
EU (Article 9 and 10)
•
Joint support schemes (Article 11)
Cooperation
Mechanisms
Type
cooperation
Statistical transfers
Only
transfer
shares
Joint
projects
between MS
Main actors
Eligible for
West
Balkan
countries
Type
transferred
energy
Governments
Yes,
but
unlikely –
because of
statistics 
No transfer of
energy
Project-based
Governments
No
Heat/transport/el
ectricity
Joint
projects
between MS and
third countries
Physical transfer
Governments
Yes
Electricity
Joint
schemes
Common
scheme
Governments
Yes,
but
unlikely
Heat/transport/el
ectricity
support
of
statistical
of RES
support
of

13. In focus: West Balkan region
•
•
The green columns represent the share of renewable energy against projected 2020 energy
demand
The differences between the green (RES potential) and red columns (RES target) represents
the energy that could be sold via cooperation mechanisms.

14. In focus: Joint projects between MS and WB
Money transfer
RES
Country A
(low/expensive RES
potential)
Project investor
s
t ran
fer
Notification
EU
Comission
Country B
(high/cheap RES
potential)
Framework Agreement
Support payment (feed-in-tariffs)
MWh

15. Projected renewable electricity surplusses - Valleys of Opportunity
(VoO)
RES transfer

16. Study case: The Serbia Italian Cooperation
Joint project on Ibar river
•
•
•
Italy stated in its National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) that it would import 6 TWh per
year of electricity from the Balkans, via Montenegro through the marine energy cable (2015)
During 2009, Serbia and Italy signed Memorandum of understanding to implement joint projects
It was decided that the first project in mutual cooperation would be the construction of
hydroelectric power plants on the Ibar
Technology
Hydro power
Capacity of hydro power plants
118 MW
Construction time
7 years
Investment costs
300 mil. €
Location
Ibar river
Production
443,400 MWh
Number of parks
10
Cooperation mechanism
Joint project between MS and third countries

17. Study case: The Serbia Italian Cooperation
Costs (red color) and benefits (blue color) from cooperation
Cost and benefits
Base case scenario (Italy produces Cooperation scenario
hydro power domestically)
electricity from Serbia)
Generation costs (€c/kWH)
20-22
10-12
Electricity market price (€c/kWh)
6-7
3-4
Grid related costs (€c/kWh)
0.5
n/a
Transmission related costs (€c/kWh)
-
0,75
TOTAL COSTS (€c/kWh)
~15
~5
Indirect costs and benefits
CO2
Industrial Leadership
Other pollutants
Economic activity
Employment
Energy Security
CO2
Industrial Leadership
Other pollutants
Economic activity
Employment
Energy Security
(Italy
buys

18. Action plans roadmap and Stakehodolders dialogue
• Action plans for each contry
• roadmap for the region
• We need YOUR feedback and
input!
2013
2014

19. Do the West Balkans benefit from
RES cooperation?
• Are there win-win situations?
• Can potentials be exploited that cannot be exploited with
national feed-in tarriffs?
• Economic benefits?
• Environmaltal effects? Eg biodiversity loss?
• Social implications?

20. Linking the Balkans with Italy
• Planned new grid connections will significantely change the
energy market in the region
• Low feed-in tarifs barrier for some technologies
• New business cases for renewables and/or
fossils

21. Our research agenda
Strategic consideration for each WB country:
Domestic target achievement vs trade: Do the Balkans
need the potential for 2020 or later?
Trading with the EU or within the region?
Can the cooperation mechanisms lead to new business
models for the region adn how could they look like?
Could the cooperation mechanisms assist in avoiding a
fossil lock-in?
Possible role and design of different cooperation
mechanism with different pros and cons

22. Bosnia and Herzegovina
•
•
•
•
•
•
Target of 40% renewables by 2020
Currently large hydro and lignite electricity
More fossil plants and hydro planned
Will Bosnia be able to expand wind up to 2020?
Can export create business cases for non-hydro?
New 400 kV to Serbia planned (to export hydro
electricity)
• Regulatory and administrative barriers?

23. BIH: potential and targets

24. BIH: energy scenarios

25. Montenegro
• RES target of 33%
• Currently large hydro, fossils and biomass
• Focus is mainly on large and small hydro, but also wind
and biomass power expansion is envisioned.
• Planned submarine interconnection cable between
Montenegro and Italy should offer new possibilities for
international cooperation.

26. Montenegro: RES potentials and
targets

27. FYROM Macedonia
• RES target of 28%
• Strong expansion of hydroelectric generation is planned.
• A Feed-In Tariff is in place, with a budgetary limit for nonhydro technologies.
• 400 kV to Greece, 400kV to Albania-Italy only after 2016
• Limited financial support for solar and wind

28. Macedonia: RES potentials and
targets

29. Croatia
• 20% RES target
• Currently thermal and large hydro electricity generation
• Increase of renewable electricity generation, especially
wind and biomass, but far below wind potentials
• Increased biomass heat and solar energy use for
heating.
• Wind energy could be available for export, if grid to Italy
is enhanced
• current grid capacity for new wind power plants is
estimated at a maximum of 360 MW
• EU MS since July 2013: No third country status anymore

30. Croatia: RES potentials and targets

31. Albania
• Albanian electricity generation mainly hydro
• Albania has accepted a RES target of 38% by 2020
• NREAP:
• Focus on hydro and renewable heat (biomass,
solar thermal)
• Possible use of cooperation mechanism until 2020
for wind expansion
• Current grid connections are insufficient for large scale
export, new cable to be built to Italy (to enable wind
energy export)

32. AL: potential and targets

33. AL: Energy Efficiency pathway critical

34. Serbia
• RES target of 27%
• Lignite fired TPPs, large hydro power and biomass as
the major renewable energy source
• Increase of wind planned (500MW), but also biomass
electricity and heat.
• Planned wind expansion at the upper limit of what the
Serbian grid is expected to be able to absorb (NREAP)
• Feed-in Tariff for solar photovoltaics limited to 10 MW of
capacity.
• Interest in using cooperation mechanisms for hydro and
solar projects in Serbia.

35. SR: RES potentials and targets

36. SR: energy demand

37. Kosovo*
• Strong expansion of hydroelectric generation is planned
(large HPP Zhur)
• Feed-In-Tariff for solar photovoltaic generation is to start
in 2014.
• Planned renewables would exceed RES targets if Zhur is
impemented
• Surplus renewables could be sold via the cooperation
mechanisms.
• 400 kV connection to Albania only in 2017

38. Kosovo*: RES potentials and targets

39. Cooperation within the region?
• Current lack of cooperation between countries led to an
inefficient regional energy system as opposed pre-1990,
where region was a net electricity exporter
• Cooperation between some countries in the region
unlikely (eg Serbia and Kosovo), in others cooperation is
emerging (Albania and Kosovo, or Macedonia and
Kosovo)
• Joint Projects within the region an option
• Joint Support schemes however unlikely in the near
future

40. Conclusions
• Export of those renewable potential in the next years that
cannot be financed by the countries
• Export for those RES potentials that cannot be
integrated in the countries grids, eg wind
• Meeting the RES targets will be a challenge
• More efficient use and improvement of existing
infrastructure is key to meet the RES targets and
may enable to export electricity

41. Thanks for your attention!