1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,160
We all love electricity. Modern societies couldn't function without it

2
00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:09,040
and we're using more and more every day. But our love affair with electrical

3
00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:10,400
power comes at a cost.

4
00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:15,800
Climate change. Power stations that use fossil fuels like coal or gas

5
00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:20,280
are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. And that's where renewable

6
00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:21,200
energy comes in.

7
00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:25,480
Generating electricity using sources like wind, water or solar power

8
00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:30,440
causes almost no greenhouse gas emissions. EU governments have pledged

9
00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:33,320
that 20 percent of our energy will come from renewable sources

10
00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:38,200
by 2020. Today around a sixth of Europe's electricity already comes from

11
00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:39,080
renewables.

12
00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:43,000
This Franco-German hydroelectric power station on the River Rhine

13
00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:47,760
has been producing clean power for decades. But the proportion will have to

14
00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:49,280
increase to well over a third

15
00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:54,840
if Europe is to respect its 2020 commitment. The EU's Intelligent Energy

16
00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:56,880
Europe program is supporting projects

17
00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:00,760
designed to help reach this goal. The OPTRAS project looked at how

18
00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:01,920
electricity producers

19
00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:05,800
can be encouraged to generate more power with renewables.

20
00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:09,680
The target of 20 percent renewable energies in the year 2020

21
00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:14,080
is an ambitious but realistic target and therefore we will need

22
00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:18,080
a broad portfolio of renewable technologies in order to achieve

23
00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:22,120
such an ambitious target. And in terms of policies

24
00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:25,560
first of all we have to rely and we have to

25
00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:29,120
build on the existing success stories in

26
00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:33,840
the different European member states. Spanish power firm Iberdrola is one of the

27
00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:36,040
world's biggest producers of renewable energy.

28
00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:39,920
This Iberdrola solar plant will power around 600 homes.

29
00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:43,720
The company participated in a project called the Realize Forum

30
00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:47,520
which studied incentive schemes to encourage the development of renewables.

31
00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:51,920
Power sources like solar or wind energy don't produce a constant steady supply

32
00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:55,800
of power. So the transmission service operators or TSOs

33
00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:59,760
who control our power networks must constantly balance varying supplies of

34
00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:01,080
renewable electricity

35
00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:05,400
with traditional sources. Spanish TSO

36
00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:09,840
REE is taking part in a project called Respond which looked at this question of

37
00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:11,400
secure energy supplies.

38
00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:15,880
In Denmark 20 percent of the country's power is on average

39
00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:20,240
generated by wind turbines. But wind energy sometimes satisfies all of

40
00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:21,440
Denmark's power needs

41
00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:27,280
allowing the country to export surplus electricity. It is a prerequisite for a

42
00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:29,000
large-scale development of wind power

43
00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:32,840
that we have strong interconnectors to the neighbors, that we have strong

44
00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:37,120
power markets and that we develop according to the needs of wind power.

45
00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:41,800
And consumers benefit from the fact that an increasing amount of the energy they

46
00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:42,240
use

47
00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:46,120
comes from clean renewable sources. Pierre Roussinchau

48
00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:48,600
has even bought chairs in an offshore wind farm.

49
00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:23,120
Increasing the amount of electricity Europe produces from renewable sources won't be easy.

50
00:03:28,920 --> 00:03:32,160
But with the right encouragement for renewables plus real efforts to reduce

51
00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:33,720
overall energy consumption

52
00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:36,000
the power to make the change is in our grasp.

53
00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:48,120
For more UN videos visit www.un.org