Dive Summary:
- Nine of Europe's biggest utilities have banded together to push for change to the European Union's energy policies they claim are endangering the continent's energy security.
- The group of utilities, consisting of Eon, RWE, Iberdrola, GDF Suez, Enel, GasTerra, Gas Natural, Vattenfall and Eni, are calling for the European Parliament to slash subsidies for renewable energy and cut down carbon targets for 2030. The utilities are also demanding a European capacity market to keep additional gas-fired generators from closing.
- Gérard Mestrallet, CEO of GDF Suez, said, "We have to reduce the speed at which Europe is building new wind farms and solar panels. At the moment, it is not sustainable.”
From the article:
GDF Suez chief executive Gérard Mestrallet and Paolo Scaroni, head of Italian oil group Eni, were expected to present proposals from the group of companies for the reform of the system to the European Parliament today (Tuesday). [...]
[Mestrallet] argued that some renewables no longer required public subsidies, and government support should be “limited to technologies that are not mature today, such as tidal and wave power."
