Project

The foundations for a policy framework for renewable energy sources until 2020 were laid by the European Parliament and Council in 2009, with Directive 2009/28/EC. This Directive advocated an overall target for EU member states of 20% renewables by 2020, which was broken down into legally binding national targets. National policy instruments have since been created to support the deployment of renewable energy sources (RES) at member state level. There is clear evidence of progress towards the 2020 target: the EU share of renewables in gross final energy consumption increased from 8.5% in 2004 to 16.0% in 2014.

Yet both the effectiveness and the economic efficiency of the various national policies vary greatly from country to country. Effective policy instruments are able to trigger investments in the targeted amount of renewables, while economically efficient policies ensure that this target is met at low cost. It is in this context that the DiaCore project has been set up.

DiaCore stands for Policy Dialogue on the assessment and convergence of RES policy in EU member states. The focus of the project is to ensure a continuous assessment of existing policy mechanisms for renewables, thereby complementing the monitoring activities of the European Commission. Moreover, the project intends to establish an active stakeholder dialogue on future policy needs for renewable electricity, heating and cooling, and transport.

The specific aims of DiaCore are to:

• Provide detailed performance assessments of existing policy mechanisms, with cross-country policy evaluations.
• Present indicators on effectiveness and efficiency of existing policies for renewables.
• Highlight additional policy needs to achieve the 2020 targets.
• Prepare key findings and recommendations to facilitate convergence in renewables support across the EU and to enhance investment, cooperation and coordination.

WP 2 - Assessing policy performance:

Prospects for RES in Europe up to 2030

Assessing the performance of renewable energy support policies with quantitative indicators – Update 2015

WP 3 - Enhancing investments:

The impact of risks in renewable energy investments and the role of smart policies

WP 4 - Assessing costs and benefits:

Guidelines for assessing costs and benefits of RET deployment

RES market values and the merit-order effect

Costs and benefits of RES in Europe

Costs and Benefits of RES in Europe up to 2030 (Background report)

WP 5 - Enhancing coordination:

Best practice design features for RES-E support schemes and best practice methodologies to determine remuneration levels

Coordination of biomass resource availability import strategies and demand

Interactions of national support schemes with the global market and implications for coordination of support schemes

WP 6 - Consolidation - Policy recommendations:

Brochure Assessing Renewables Policy in the EU

Final Report

WP 7 - Policy dialogue - stakeholder consultation:

Policy performance, drivers and barriers 1st DIACORE-CEPS Webinar, December 10th 2014

Costs and benefits of deploying RES DIACORE Webinar, April 13th 2015

WP 8 - Communication:

1st DIACORE Policy Brief, 2nd DIACORE Policy Brief, 3rd DIACORE Policy Brief, 4th DIACORE Policy Brief, 5th DIACORE Policy Brief

• Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI (Coordinator), www.isi.fraunhofer.de
• Technische Universität Wien, Energy Economics Group (EEG), www.eeg.tuwien.ac.at
• Ecofys Netherlands bv, www.ecofys.com
• eclareon GmbH, www.eclareon.com
• National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), www.epu.ntua.gr
• Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), www.ceps.eu
• Lithuanian Energy Institute (LEI), www.lei.lt
• DIW Berlin, www.diw.de
• Universiteit Utrecht, www.uu.nl
• Axpo Austria GmbH, www.axpo.com