Ambitious PV targets announced in Serbia, Turkey, Croatia, Azerbaijan and Bulgaria will help put eastern Europe centre stage for renewables investors between now and 2020, according to Kiev-based renewables consultancy the IBCentre.
IBCentre the Innovative Business Centre is hosting the EuroSEF-2014 forum in Brussels on September 26, an event aimed to drive the take-up of renewables to help Europe become more energy independent, an issue given recent impetus by the unfolding military tensions between Russia and the Ukraine.
IBCentre says a combination of renewables targets and policy support over the next six years will put eastern Europe in the spotlight, overcoming the lack of FITs and a focus on western Europe and Asia by solar's big players which has hampered renewables development in the region to date.
The FIT reductions being introduced by governments in more mature western European renewables markets will also help make eastern Europe more attractive to investors.
Slovenia has announced plans for 150 MW of solar by 2020, along with 1.25 GW of small hydro; Serbia is planning 190 MW of PV along with 1.4 GW of wind; Turkey wants 2 GW of new solar and 20 GW of wind; and Croatia is targeting 150 MW of solar alongside 400 MW of new wind power generation.
Bulgaria is targeting 1.15 GW if solar and 2 GW of wind as it aims to generate 16% of its energy from renewables by 2020 and Azerbaijan has announced a target of adding 950 MW of solar and 800 MW of wind by the same deadline.
With Moldova announcing plans for 400 MW of wind and biomass, as well as a renewables FIT, Georgia planning 350 MW of small hydro by 2020 and Romania targeting 1.5 GW of wind, the attractiveness of the region to renewables investors is obvious.
With more than 1 GW of biomass power plants planned for western Europe there is the potential for 4.69 GW of solar, 6.3 GW of wind and 1.6 GW of small hydro across the continent to boost the energy independence strategy of the EU with the renewables market possibly exceeding 30 billion ($40 billion).
