Renewable Energy in Spain: Technology and Politics,Canberra 23 May

Professor Cayetano López, Director General of CIEMAT, will speak on "Renewable Energy in Spain: Technology and Politics" at the Australian National University, in Canberra, 23 May 2013.

“Renewable Energy in Spain: Technology and Politics”

Public Lecture by Professor Cayetano López, Director General of CIEMAT

Thursday, 23 May 2013, 5.00pm drinks reception, lecture from 5.30 - 6.30pm

Renewable Energy deployment in Spain has progressed rapidly in the past decade due to a convergence of several factors: a political will to meet the 2020 renewable energy and climate change objectives defined by the European Union, the existence of Research Centres that have spearheaded innovation and commercialisation of renewable energy technologies as well as large amount of private sector investment.

As a result, one third ofSpain’s electricity is generated from renewable sources. Spanish companies have also emerged as world leaders in a number of renewable energy technologies, notably wind power and concentrated solar. All this have been brought about by generous public funding schemes in R & D and early stage commercialisation as well as fiscal and regulatory policies supportive of a rapid expansion of the renewable energy market.

The European crisis have prompted significant policy changes that could jeopardise the continuity of existing support schemes and negatively affect the state of renewable energy in Spain. Professor Cayetano López, Director General of CIEMAT, describes the present situation and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of policy changes going forward.

CIEMAT is the leading public research institution that operates under key Spanish ministries, including the Ministry of Economics and Competitiveness and the Ministry of Research, Development and Innovation. Established in 1986, it promotes and carries out research and technological development projects of environmentally friendly energy technologies. It also aims at improving the competitiveness of existing renewable energy technologies in the global energy market. CIEMAT has six key facilities in Spain, including world renowned Plataforma Solar de Almería, the world leader in concentrated solar power research since 1977.

This event is jointly hosted by The ANU Energy Change Institute (ECI) and The Embassy of Spain. ECI combines leading research and teaching in energy technologies, efficiency, policy, law, sociology and economics. ECI Director Professor Ken Baldwin will chair the public lecture. Registration is essential.