In a Communication released on the 15th of October 1997 (COM(97) 514 final - see Bulletin EU 10-1997 Energy (1/9)) the European Commission encourages main actions and policies required at European Union and national level to ensure that the benefits of combined heat and power generation (CHP) are exploited. The European Commission sets its view to doubling CHP’s share of the European Union's electricity market from 9 % to 18 % in 2010.
According to the European Commission facilitation of CHP’s penetration of the European energy market is needed to drive both energy efficiency and environmentally friendly development.
The European Commission still abides by these political parameters. Only recently, on the 13th of November 2008, it released another Communication (COM(2008) 771 final) in which the importance of ensuring and exploiting CHP’s full potential throughout the Member States was emphasized. The European Commission shares the assessment that CHP takes the European Union closer to its' energy-related goals and has proven to be an effective tool to increase energy efficiency and achieve savings by reducing CO2 emissions and decreasing network losses. Furthermore, CHP can enhance competitiveness through development of high efficiency cogeneration technologies with export potential and contribute to economic development, creating growth and jobs.
