2013 pdf digital newsletter march april 2013

© PDF _ DIGITAL NEWSLETTER – MARCH‐APRIL 2013 • EYE CATCHER: “EU POSSIBLE DUTIES ON THE IMPORT OF SOLAR CELLS: AIE REACTS” • EUROPEAN NEWS [Directive/Project] • SECTOR RELATED NEWS • FUTURE EVENTS: INSTALLERS’ EUROPEAN SUMMIT COPENHAGEN AIE/GCI-UICP • PUBLICATIONS [Position Papers/Press Release]

01_Eye catcher: EU possible duties on the import of solar cells: AIE reacts On 1 March 2013 the Commission Regulation (EU) No 182/2013 of 1 March 2013 was published in the O.J. making imports of crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules and key components (i.e. cells and wafers) originating in or consigned from the People’s Republic of China subject to registration. This means that with effect from 6 March 2013, all EU member states must register all crystalline solar modules, cells, etc. imported to Europe from China. At the same time, it was decided to impose anti‐dumping duties on these registered solar cells if the EU decides to impose such duties. Whilst the AIE has no comments on the registration obligation and the possible levy of duties, we seriously question the possibility to levy definitive duties retroactively. Indeed, a number of solar cell importers and retailers, including electric installers, may have to pay duties on solar cells ordered without being aware of (the level of) future possible duties. This will result in a lot of economic and financial uncertainties on the market, not desirable in the current difficult economic situation in Europe. Additional impact may be the uncertainty regarding end‐user prices which will slow down the entire solar cell market. The AIE expressed its concerns to the European Commission that it finds it inappropriate that the EU will levy such duties retroactively. If levied, we strongly recommend: > the level to be defined as soon as possible and > with no retroactive effect in order to avoid a negative impact on the solar cell market.

The Chinese government had advised the EU to show restrain in imposing tariffs in order to avoid a trade war. Preliminary EU investigations had already resulted in a negative effect on the Chinese domestic industry. The Chinese PV export market is worth 200 billion dollars, the EU being responsible for more than 70% of their export market.

02_European news [Directives / Projects] 02‐01: GREEN PAPER CAUSES DEBATE ON 2030 CLIMATE AND ENERGY TARGETS With the release of its Green Paper on Climate and Energy on 27 March 2013, the European Commission kicked off the debate on the next steps in the transformation of Europe’s energy sector. In this Green Paper, the European Commission addresses a 2030 framework for climate and energy policies. This document launches a public consultation lasting until 2 July, allowing Member States, other EU institutions and stakeholders to express their views.

Günther Oettinger, EU Commissioner for Energy said: "We need to define our climate and energy policy framework for 2030 as soon as possible to ensure proper investment that will give us sustainable growth, affordable competitive energy prices and greater energy security. The new framework must take into account the consequences of the economic crisis, but it must also be ambitious enough to meet the necessary long‐ term goal of cutting emissions 80‐95% by 2050." Connie Hedegaard, EU Commissioner for Climate Action, said: ''Europe's dependence on foreign fossil fuels is growing every year. That means more expensive and unaffordable energy bills for Europeans. This is not very wise. It's obviously not wise for the climate, but it's also not wise for our economy and our competiveness. That is why we have decided that in Europe we want a low‐carbon society for 2050. We have targets for 2020, but for most investors 2020 is around the corner. It's time to define the targets for 2030. The sooner we do that, the more certainty we get to our companies and our investors. And the more ambitious these targets are, the better for the climate.'' Green Paper on 2030 policy framework The Green Paper raises a set of questions, including: • • • •

What type, nature and level of climate and energy targets should be set for 2030? How can coherence between different policy instruments be attained? How can the energy system best contribute to EU competitiveness? How can Member States' different capacities to act be taken into account?

Under chairmanship of Francis Bouquillon, the AIE Task Force on Energy will compile and introduce an AIE position paper to this stakeholder consultation. Renewable energy The renewable energy (RES) progress report shows that the current policy framework of legally binding renewable energy targets has resulted in strong growth of the renewable energy sector until 2010, with an EU RES share of 12.7%. For progress to continue and to meet the targets in 2020, more efforts will be needed. Efforts must be especially made in creating certainty for investors, reducing the administrative burden and increasing clarity in the planning. Further information: Green Paper and consultation page here: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/green_paper_2030_en.htm

Find out more about the EU's energy mix

02‐02 PARLIAMENT CALLS FOR LOW‐CARBON ECONOMY BY 2050 IN ITS RESOLUTION OF 14 MARCH 2013. Parliament broadly supports the European Commission's "Energy Roadmap for moving to a low‐carbon economy", which sets a policy framework for the European Union to achieve an 80‐95% reduction in its CO2 emissions by 2050. The Roadmap sets out "milestones" to reduce CO2 by at least 40% by 2030, 60% by 2040 and 80% by 2050. The use of highly polluting fuels, such as coal and oil, will have to be reduced substantially if the EU is to meet its long– term goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% by 2050. In order to move to a low‐carbon energy system, we will need a higher share of renewable energy sources and improved energy efficiency, according to a Parliament resolution adopted on 14 March. Future of energy The European Commission published in December 2011 an energy roadmap to a low‐carbon economy in 2050, which sets out several scenarios for how Europe should structure its energy supply if it is to meet its goal for reducing emissions. The EP resolution adopted on 14 March was in response to this energy roadmap. Renewable energy The EU is on track to meet its 2020 renewable energy targets, said MEPs, adding that renewables will in the long term play a more prominent role in Europe's energy mix. They also call on the Commission to support the move to third generation bio–fuels, which are based on food crop waste products, and to impose similar conditions on imported bio–fuels. Fossil fuels In 2010, almost three–quarters of all energy consumed in the EU came from fossil fuels, with 35% from oil, 27% from gas and 16% from coal. They are likely to remain part of the energy system during the transition to a low–carbon energy system. According to MEPs:

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nuclear energy will remain an important contributor natural gas will play an important role in the short to medium term, since it represents a "relatively quick and cost–efficient" way of reducing reliance on other more polluting fossil fuels oil is likely to remain in the energy mix even in 2050, albeit with a much lower share than today, and used mainly in long–distance passenger and freight transports

Electricity Electricity will become more important in the future energy mix. This means that all forms of low‐carbon electricity production will need to be harnessed, including conversion efficiency, renewables, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and nuclear energy. Energy savings The resolution also called on the current rate and quality of building renovation to be given a substantial boost in order to reduce buildings' energy consumption by 80% by 2050 compared to 2010 levels.

02‐03 WILL THE EU MEMBER STATES ACHIEVE THEIR ENERGY EFFICIENCY COMMITMENTS AS WELL AS THEIR ENERGY SAVINGS TARGET? The Buildings Performance Institute Europe recently issued a report that aims to provide guidance for member states on how to meet the EU’s rules on implementing “cost‐optimal” methodology taking into account the lifetime costs of buildings under the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). The EPBD requires member states to ensure that by 2021 all new buildings have a net energy output of near zero. “The building sector is responsible for the largest share of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and therefore they are a key sector to reach the long‐term climate and energy targets," the BPIE report said. 'Cost‐optimal' buildings The cost‐optimal methodology requires EU countries to consider the lifetime costs of buildings to shape their future energy performance requirements, an unprecedented EU‐level rule. The BPIE contends the new rules are still not strict enough, saying they give EU states wiggle room when calculating energy savings. The energy performance rules further oblige EU countries to prove that their minimum energy performance requirements are not more than 15% lower than the calculated cost‐optimal level. In the event that the cost‐optimal comparative analysis shows that the national requirements in force are much less ambitious than the cost‐optimal level [member states] need to justify this gap to the Commission.

“If the gap cannot be justified, a plan should be developed to outline steps on how to reduce the gap significantly. In that case, the Commission will publish a report on the progress of [the member state].” Next steps: •

April 2013: Member states present their national programmes for the implementation of the Energy Efficiency Directive.

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2014: EU pledged to review progress towards energy efficiency 2020 targets and consider binding measures if it is too slow.

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9 July, 2015: Deadline for threshold raising energy performance requirement on public buildings to 250m2.

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2016: European Commission to review the Energy Efficiency Directive.

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1 Jan. 2019: Deadline for all new public buildings to become near‐zero CO2emitters

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2020: Deadline for EU states to meet voluntary obligation to reduce energy output by 20%, measured against 2005 levels.

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1 Jan. 2021: Deadline for all new buildings to become near‐zero carbon emitters

02‐04 FINAL WORKSHOP ON THE INSTALL‐RES PROJECT ~ SHORT REVIEW

The EU funded Install+RES project wherein AIE is an active partner, held a final workshop jointly with the PV TRIN EU funded project on 12 March last in Brussels. The Install+RES aims to

implement high quality training courses for installers of small‐scale renewable energy systems in buildings. One of the added values of the “Install+RES” training courses is represented by the “hands on learning” concept. “Hands on learning” means that the Install+RES training course provides the participants with practical lessons on how to install RES systems in buildings. The morning session was dedicated to the importance of training as to upgrade and increase both the level of existing skills as to give answers to the current lack of competent trainers, the lack of trained and qualified workforce, the lack of youth engaging in the sector. Projects such as Install+Res, PV TRIN and Build Up Skills are important tools to support continuous training and education of craftsmen and system installers. Very interesting debates took place in the afternoon session. Whilst the need for qualified professionals was recognised, the majority of the participants agreed that though certification schemes can be a good tool to reach the customer’s trust and ensure quality on the market, they © AIE | DIGITAL NEWSLETTER MARCH‐APRIL 2013 5

are certainly not the only solution. The AIE highlighted the related cost investment for the contractor of certification schemes. Therefore compulsory certification would not be realistic and should represent an important added value for both the contractor’s company and the customer, implying that the customer understands what value such certificates mean. The website of the Install+Res project is www.resinstaller.eu where you can find a.o. the training material for installers of small‐scale Renewable Energy Systems (RES) in buildings! 02‐05 NEW EUROPEAN SCORECARDS ON PV PROJECT DEVELOPMENT: How smart are your country’s legal‐administrative and grid‐connection frameworks? Athens, Berlin, Bratislava, Brussels, The Hague, Lisbon, Madrid, Paris, Prague, Rome, Sofia, Stockholm, Vienna, Warsaw, 16 January 2013 – The Europe‐wide PV GRID consortium has released a major update of its comprehensive online public database, which gathers detailed data on project development processes in 16 EU countries. The database now rates each country on how “smart” the process is that PV developers must undergo to get a project running and feeding into the grid. The PV GRID project partners collect and analyse data from PV system installers and developers in 16 EU countries. Their work builds on the efforts of the PV LEGAL project, which ran from 2009 to 2012 and led to the creation of an interactive public database that helps assess progress in removing legal and administrative barriers to PV development. Under PV GRID the database has been greatly improved, simplified and graphically redesigned to become more user‐friendly. It allows any user to research the duration and relative costs of complying with such processes according to the latest experiences from the field. Initial results show that the process for developing small residential systems is smoothest in Belgium, Germany, and Greece, while Spain and Sweden have the most time‐consuming processes. The data also show how in many countries the development process becomes more complex for systems in the Commercial and Industrial segments. On top of project duration, the database also allows to compare countries based on other indicators such as waiting time, market barriers severity and legal‐administrative labor requirements. The PV GRID database is accessible here: www.pvgrid.eu/database. The information on the database will be regularly updated by the partners throughout the duration of the project.

02‐06: PUBLIC PROCUREMENT DIRECTIVE: UP TO TRILOGUE NEGOTIATIONS The European Parliament’s Internal Market Committee voted end of February to start Trilogue Negotiations about a first reading agreement on the new Public Procurement Directive with the Council. Several pending issues will have to be determined in these talks.

Amongst several issues the AIE has notified particular interests in its position to a number of issues such as: ‐

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Division into separate lots, where the Commission proposal of the “apply or explain” principle, should be accepted by which contracting authorities should separate tenders worth more than 500.000 EUR into lots as a rule, or otherwise state their reasons for not doing so. The AIE supports the direct payment of the subcontractor must be a true possibility. This very simple administrative measure is fundamental to limit the bad habits of main contractors to pay the sub‐contractors with severe delays that may endanger the viability of the sub‐contracting SME. For this reason, and most of all in times of crisis and deteriorating public finances, the possibility of direct payment of the subcontractors must become the norm and must be given by all MS to the contracting authorities. This measure does not in any way put into question the legal responsibility of the contract which remains on the main contractor that has to approve the payment by the contracting authority. The AIE supports the Commission’s proposal to have a concrete numerical definition of abnormally low tenders. The Commission proposal includes a concrete and practical definition of abnormally low tenders, which is necessary to apply the rule in a transparent way.

02‐07 TOWARDS A EUROPE‐WIDE DATABASE OF ACCIDENTS AND INJURIES A broad coalition of European organisations (including CEN and CENELEC) has come together to call on the European Commission to propose setting up a Pan‐European Accident and Injury Data System. They are convinced that such a system would contribute to fewer accidents and injuries. Moreover, the cost of creating such a system would be more than offset by reductions in health care costs. Roughly 5.7 million people are admitted to hospital annually as a result of injuries sustained in accidents. 34 million others are treated as outpatients. 41 million injuries per year is not only an extraordinarily high number but also contribute to significant healthcare costs (estimated at €78 billion each year ). 73% of such accidents occur at home or while engaged in leisure, including sports. Aiming to reduce the number of preventable injuries and also healthcare costs, European business groups, consumer organisations, standardisation bodies and safety promoters together urge the European Commission to establish an EU‐wide accident and injury data system. Such a European injury and accident database would require a representative sample of emergency centers to record the cause of such accidents. Using this resource, national authorities would then pool and share the data into a European system, helping manufacturers to adapt their products, providing a basis for public awareness‐raising campaigns, assisting legislators and surveillance authorities and standardisers to make more informed risk assessment decisions and developing better product standards. Elena Santiago Cid, Director General of CEN and CENELEC, said: "A truly comprehensive pan‐European database of accidents and injuries would provide valuable information for those who are developing and revising European standards in relation to all kinds of products. It would enable our experts to identify and assess specific risks associated with particular types of products, and then look for ways to eliminate or minimize these risks. The result should be better standards leading to safer products, which also means fewer accidents and injuries."

03_ Sector related news 03‐01 NELFO CELEBRATES ITS 100th ANNIVERSARY. We would like to express our warmest thank to Nelfo, AIE’s Norwegian member association, for the many years – and hopefully those to come ☺ ‐ for their most active participation and efforts in the AIE Task Forces, General Secretaries, Policy Coordination Committee often contributing with many creative solutions. All our best wishes to Nelfo, their efficient and professional team for their 100th Anniversary! Nelfo is one of the strongest and most powerful trade association in Norway, employing about 60 staff for approx. 1.400 member companies. 03‐02 50 YEARS CELEBRATION FOR FFIE! AIE attends the 50th anniversary of FFIE with conference in Saint‐Petersburg 9‐11 May. Our French member FFIE will celebrate its 50th birthday in style in Saint‐Petersburg in Russia. The conference organized in partnership with Schneider Electric is focusing on the changing electricity industry and its whole new ecosystem, with new players, new ways of interaction and collaboration that is being created. As a global specialist in energy management, Schneider Electric aims to contribute to the emergence of this ecosystem stimulating its stakeholders, employees, suppliers and customers. AIE congratulates FFIE and wishes the organization many more years to come and to continue the good cooperation within our European installers association. © AIE | DIGITAL NEWSLETTER MARCH‐APRIL 2013 8

03‐03 TESTIMONIAL FROM FENIE ON THE ECONOMIC SITUATION IN SPAIN, Francesco Paramio, FENIE President, AIE Vice‐President. Source: Magazine FENIE n°37 March – Editorial) “The economic situation of the first trimester of 2013 continues in the line of recession, with similarities to those of end last year, which continues to have a disastrous impact on the activity of installation companies. The metal production fell by 2.2% in January, with an average of more than 10.8% devaluation experienced last year. Meanwhile, revenues fell by 8.5% and orders by 7.1%. The labour market fell down with 6.8% on yearly basis, whilst the number of Social Security members also fell by 7.1%. In this internal difficult context, the only promising news comes from abroad. Although the foreign trade also fell 1.9% in 2012 (the fourth trimester increased 0.5%), the balance of payments remains positive, mainly due to the significant decline experienced by imports, particularly in the metal sector (12%) and some 10% in electrical equipment. In this final section exports have grown by 5.3% whilst in the sector of electromechanical instruments, exports increased with 13.4%. In Spain, the lack of access for SME’s to credit still dominates and after more than five years of continuous crisis, the margin for the survival of many of our companies is exhausted and their risk for closure is ever‐ increasing and that will continue this year. With the only clear and evident symptom of optimism abroad, the Internationalization reveals itself as one of the prospects on the horizon. We must persuade ourselves more than ever to go abroad. That’s why our Association FENIE will organize within a few weeks the First Hispanic American Forum on Energy Efficiency in the Peruvian capital, Lima. The objective is to find more favourable environments and to encourage our SMEs to consider the option to work outside the normal area of activity being a real possibility, even with difficulties and barriers to overcome but much closer than we sometimes imagine”.

04_ Future events http://www.aie.eu/aie/page/Events Please don’t forget to take a look on the AIE website for future AIE meetings in 2013.

04‐01 AIE COUNCIL OF DELEGATES: 12‐14 SEPTEMBER 2013 IN COPENHAGEN In 2013 our European Council of Delegates will get a new outlook as a European Installers Summit, in partnership with the GCI‐UICP. From the 12th until the 14th of September, our Danish members of TEKNIQ will warmly host this year’s congress in colorful Copenhagen. By mid/end May the official registration for this common General Assembly will be possible through the AIE website.

05_ Publications – check new AIE and related publications at our library on ISSUU 05‐01 WORLD ENERGY OUTLOOK 2012 The 2012 edition of the World Energy Outlook was released on 12 November 2012. Drawing on the latest data and policy developments the report presents analytical insights into trends in energy markets and what they mean for energy security, environmental protection and economic development. It sets out updated projections of energy demand, production, trade, investments and carbon‐dioxide emissions, broken down by country, fuel and sector, to 2035. Read more about WEO‐2012

The complete WEO‐2012 chapter “Measuring progress towards energy for all” has now been published here, together with updated databases, charts and methodology information. Take a quick look at the table of contents for those who would like to buy the complete brochure online. More info: http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/ European Association of Electrical Contractors “ELECTRICITY SURROUNDS US – TOUCHES EVERY ONE OF US, EVERY DAY, EVERYWHERE. Who we are: The European Association of Electrical Contractors – AIE – comprises 20 national associations representing 175,000 contractors, a workforce of nearly 1.000,000 and a turnover of Euro 75 billion. Monitoring the EU agenda/Directives relevant for the electrical sector, the AIE points out the key strategies and main priorities for the modern electrical contractor. With the increasing complexity of technical installations, the private consumer and house owners are becoming more and more dependent on the knowledge and creativity of the electrical contractor. He is an expert adviser who is able to explain to the client the possibilities and advantages of new technology in a technical and environmental way. Kindly visit our website: www.aie.eu or contact us at info@aie.eu.

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