Investing in the Development of Low Carbon Technologies (SET Plan)

In this proposal, the Commission estimates that an additional investment of €50 billion in energy technology research will be needed over the next 10 years. This means almost tripling the annual investment in the European Union, from €3 to €8 billion. The proposal states that the EU "has to bring to commercial maturity the most promising technologies, in order to permit large-scale, sustainable production of advanced biofuels and highly efficient combined heat and power from biomass. The proposal indicates that the total public and private investment needed in Europe [for sustainable bioenergy demonstration] over the next 10 years is estimated as €9 bn. By 2020, the contribution to the EU energy mix from cost-competitive bio-energy used in accordance with the sustainability criteria of the new RES directive could be at least 14%. More than 200 000 local jobs could be created.