Renewable Energy Policy in the European Union: A Contribution to Meeting International Climate Protection Goals?

As a member of the European Union (EU), Bulgaria has been implementing the EU's policy targets designed to increase the share of renewable energy (RE) use in gross final energy consumption by 2020. The target for Bulgaria, set at 16%, was accomplished eight years earlier than mandated, in 2012. The result of rapid but poorly regulated growth in renewables—seemingly a success story—illustrates the potential pitfalls of RE policy implementation. Having met its target, Bulgaria undertook a series of restrictive policy measures that undermined short-term RE growth, increased regulatory uncertainty and market stagnation. The objective of this chapter is to understand the factors that shaped these unintended policy measures and outcomes. Drawing on key informant interviews, the chapter presents a case study of renewable energy policy implementation in a multi-level governance system and illustrates the boomerang effects associated with top-down policy implementation.

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Implementing the European Union Renewable Energy Policy Targets in Bulgaria

Cases on Green Energy and Sustainable Development - Practice, Progress, and Proficiency in Sustainability ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-8559-6.ch002 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 30-59

Author(s):

Tatyana B. Ruseva ◽

Maria A. Petrova

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Renewable Energy ◽

Policy Implementation ◽

Energy Policy ◽

Renewable Energy Policy ◽

The European Union ◽

Governance System ◽

Final Energy Consumption ◽

Policy Measures ◽

Policy Targets

As a member of the European Union (EU), Bulgaria has been implementing the EU's policy targets designed to increase the share of renewable energy (RE) use in gross final energy consumption by 2020. The target for Bulgaria, set at 16%, was accomplished eight years earlier than mandated, in 2012. The result of rapid but poorly regulated growth in renewables—seemingly a success story—illustrates the potential pitfalls of RE policy implementation. Having met its target, Bulgaria undertook a series of restrictive policy measures that undermined short-term RE growth, increased regulatory uncertainty and market stagnation. The objective of this chapter is to understand the factors that shaped these unintended policy measures and outcomes. Drawing on key informant interviews, the chapter presents a case study of renewable energy policy implementation in a multi-level governance system and illustrates the boomerang effects associated with top-down policy implementation.

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Implementing EU Renewable Energy Policy at the Subnational Level

10.1093/oso/9780198802242.003.0028 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Gilles Lepesant

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Renewable Energy ◽

Empirical Evidence ◽

Energy Policy ◽

Local Level ◽

Renewable Energy Policy ◽

The European Union ◽

Adoption And Implementation ◽

Multi Level ◽

The Eu

The European Union (EU) has set targets for gradually reducing greenhouse gas emissions through 2050. One of the instruments involved is the 2009 Renewable Energy Directive, which specifies a 20 per cent renewable energy target for the EU by 2020. The chapter reviews tensions and institutional innovations that can arise at local and regional levels within the context of the implementation of this policy. Drawing on empirical evidence collected in two regions, one in a federal country (Brandenburg in Germany), one in a unitary state (Aquitaine in France), the chapter describes the factors that determine community and market acceptance of renewable energies, suggesting that appropriate multi-level governance schemes are instrumental in the successful adoption and implementation of EU priorities at the local level.

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