With Directive 2009/28/EC the European Parliament and Council have laid the grounds for the policy framework for renewable energy sources (RES) until 2020. The aim of this proposed action is to ensure a continuous assessment of the existing policy mechanisms and to establish a fruitful stakeholder dialogue on future policy needs for renewable electricity (RES-E), heating & cooling (RES-H), and transport (RES-T). Thus, DIA-CORE shall facilitate convergence in RES support across the EU and enhance investments, cooperation and coordination. Related assessments build on detailed quantitative policy performance evaluations related to effectiveness, efficiency and resulting total costs and benefits. This project shall complement the Commission’s monitoring activities of Member States (MSs) success in meeting 2020 RES targets and builds on the approaches developed and successfully applied in the previous IEE projects OPTRES, FUTURES-E and RE-Shaping.

 

To facilitate decision-making DIA-CORE offers detailed cross-country policy evaluations, presented in an interactive web-based RES policy assessment database. This policy assessment database will be linked to (and build on the information provided by) the RES-Legal database currently developed for DG ENER. Indicators on effectiveness and efficiency of existing policies for RES in all sectors will be extended and updated, complemented by an analysis of costs and benefits of RES on MS level. Future consequences of policy choices will be analysed in detail using the Green-X model, highlighting possible additional policy needs for 2020 target achievement and contributing to upcoming 2030-related discussions. In general, the optimisation of the design of the individual RES policies, namely feed-in tariffs, premiums, investment incentives and quota systems (certificate trading for RES-E, obligations for RES-H) in line with future policy needs is a key focus of the project. Thus, innovative concepts and design elements will be developed as well as accompanying measures aiming to remove non-economic barriers and to improve the conditions for financing RES investments. Furthermore options for coordination of national RES strategies and instruments based on best practices will be in the focus of this action.

 

In the course of DIA-CORE, an intense and continuous stakeholder dialogue will be established based on a series of topical workshops and continuous involvement of national and European key decision makers. To ensure the use of the project findings and recommendations in future policy making, intensified experience exchange forms an overarching component of this project. Complementary to the comprehensive interactive web-based RES policy database, this exchange will be organised by way of workshops/conferences, online meetings, presentations at external events and through the use of social media.