Below a very interesting opinion article
which was published in the Dutch newspaper 'NRC Handelsblad' on June
4th. It presents a new plan by influential
professors in economy and sustainability, to solve the Eurocrisis by
partly converting debts into renewable energy concessions. The article is currently being
translated into 6 languages and will be sent to news media in other European
countries.
If you want to know specifics or get
involved to support this effort, you can contact Marco directly (at the bottom
of the message).
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Get rid of those debts with sun and wind
Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Ireland offer excellent conditions
for harvesting renewable energy from the sun, wind and geothermal sources. Why
not give these countries the opportunity to pay off a substantial part of their
debts in this way? How? By giving creditors concessions for large scale
investment programs in renewable energy in these countries that offer enough
long-term financial profit. We are talking solar panels, wind parks or
geothermal power stations.
Last week, the Dutch economist Sweder van Wijnbergen published an
article in 'NRC Handelsblad' claiming that the troubled European economies need
both debt reduction and an investment program in order to give their people new
hope and a growth prospect. This can be achieved by partly converting debts
into renewable energy concessions.
A 30% debt reduction should be possible – assuming a 2,5% average yearly
inflation, a modest 1,5 Eurocent profit per kWh in the 2020-2045 period and a
conservatively estimated yield of 70 Gigawatt hour per square kilometer per
year. Having a 40 billion Euro debt, Ireland ought to give 550 square kilometer
into concession. This is less than one percent of Ireland's total surface. For
Portugal, with 78 billion Euro debt, this would be 1,000 square kilometer or
one percent of its total territory. And Greece with a 210 billion debt would
amount up to 2,800 square kilometer which is two percent of Greek territory.
The energy projects don’t have to exclusively be large-scale and on a few big
pieces of land. They could capitalize on vast opportunities for decentralized
energy locally as well.
This plan only has winners. The concessions allow the creditors to get
their money back, which is quite uncertain in the current situation. The
indebted countries will not only be paying off a substantial part of their
debts, but they will also receive a positive stimulus for their economy and
employment from the construction and maintenance of the projects. Especially
the young generation in these countries who now face a tremendously high
unemployment rate will enjoy a new perspective for a debt-free future with many
opportunities for healthy growth. And Europe will have more renewable energy
with which to contribute to a cleaner, healthier and safer environment for its
citizens.
Through a specially founded consortium for this purpose, creditors
should be able to exert their concession rights by financing their renewable
energy projects at a low interest rate with the European Investment Bank (EIB).
This fits very well within the EIB mission and supports the EU policy to
establish an energy transition over the next decades. A low interest rate has a
strong positive effect on the profitability of these projects because renewable
energy installations typically have a relative high initial capital investment
and a very low operational cost since the “fuels” - solar, wind and geothermal
- are free.
Additionally, the exertion of concession rights should accompany the
continued expansion of the European Supergrid which is already being built.
Through HVDC underground or submarine power cables energy supply and demand of
different EU members will be connected. This will lead to better
functioning trade and will contribute to more varying energy sources with a
more reliable and well-balanced supply. The plan will also support the Desertec
project that invests in renewable energy projects in Northern Africa to partly
provide in the European need for electricity.
A plan as presented here can only work if the creditors are willing to
think and act from a long-term perspective, one of at least several decades.
The advantages are numerous: the land-lease cheap or for free, a low interest
rate and a structurally rising wholesale price for conventional energy. Because
the demand for land with favorable circumstances (a lot of sun, wind or
geothermal heat) is likely to grow, it would be in fact no more than a clever
anticipation.
Source: this opinion article was published in NRC Handelsblad (The
Netherlands) on June 4th by Prof. Dr. Klaas van Egmond (Professor in
Geosciences – Utrecht University), Prof. Dr. Sylvester Eijffinger (Professor
Financial Economy – Tilburg University), Prof. Dr. Herman Wijffels (Professor
Sustainablity and Societal Change – Utrecht University), Prof. Dr. Wim
Sinke (Professor Sustainable Energysystems – Utrecht University) en Marco
Witschge (initiator of this article and Director of the New Energy for The
Netherlands Foundation)
Contact
person: Marco Witschge
Director,
Stichting Nederland Krijgt Nieuw Energie
More information about NRC Handelsblad please click here
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