At the request of the European Commission, DG Energy & Transport, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, SenterNovem organized the fifth Sustainable Energy Forum. The event took place on 2 October last, at the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky in Amsterdam. The purpose of the summit is the further development of a European energy policy. It is meant to contribute to sustainability aims and fair competition, and to ensure a sufficient energy supply. In addition, the Forum serves as a platform for discussions on the European Commission’s initiatives with respect to Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and Energy Efficiency (EE). Over 60 representatives from the member states, NGO’s, the business community, and social organizations attended the summit.

Incentive Measures
In his opening speech, host Pieter Boot, acting Director General for Energy and Telecom of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, made a connection between the summit’s two discussion themes: incentive measures and the internal market for sustainable energy. He encouraged the participants to enter into a debate about this link. 
According to Martin Schöpe, head of the Division International and EU Affairs ‘Environment and Energy’ of the German Ministry of the Environment, the feed-in tariff, the fiscal incentive model used in Germany, is the most effective. In the feed-in system the producer is given a previously agreed-upon amount of money for each kWh he supplies to the system. The producer is obliged to buy sustainable energy and pay the agreed-upon price for it. This system is at right angles with the free market for sustainable energy, where demand determines the price. Schöpe said the prospect of free trade caused him some concern, because of the large differences among the incentive measures of the various member states. He advocated a balancig model, in which a country’s incurred costs are being balaced with payments by other countries who have invested less. Schöpe was willing to further investigate this model. He also indicated the added value of voluntary trade, in the event, for instance, of a country producing a surplus beyond its own targets. This model could be combined very well with the feed-in system. 
In following, Bo Diczafalusy, head of the Division Energy of the Swedish Ministry of Energy, spoke about the Swedish certification system. This model provides the possibility of trading certificates, which acts as an incentive for sustainable electricity. Diczafalusy observed that the system works well in Sweden. He would like to see it extended to the whole of the European Union. However, the model clashes with the feed-in system, because it is difficult to harmonize fiscal law.
David de Jager, senior consultant at Ecofys, analyzed the various incentive measures, without making a choice in favour of one model over another. In his view, it is not important which specific model is chosen, as long as the system is stable and well facilitated. He called it support the supporting schemes. A stable system is likely to attract investors who prefer low risks and safe returns.

Internal market
In the afternoon, the emphasis was on trading certificates and the possibilities of harmonizing this on a European scale. Claes Hedenström, president of RECS International, presented a specific model for bringing two systems together. A cooperative system of the various incentive measures is created, which actually makes it possible to open up the market within these measures.
However, Carlos Gascó, head of the Prospective Department Iberdrola Renovables, warned that a European certification system might endanger the target of 20% sustainable energy by 2020.
For Christian Kjaer, CEO of EWEA, liberalizing the internal electricity market – in harmony with the RES framework – has top priority. It would lead to a level playing field and to investment security. On the other hand, he indicated that the feed-in system had proven itself and he warned against a European system, because of all the snags inherent in such a system. ‘The devil would be in the detail.’

All in all, there seemed to be little movement towards attaining harmony. There was scant enthousiasm among the member states to present new proposals. Most countries held on to their positions, while some countries were still a long way from making up their minds. Those energy companies that were present, did, however, signal that they were very willing to help thinking on this matter.

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