EU plans 30 cities to lead world on “smart” energy

Europe will select 30 cities to pioneer "smart" electricity grids and space-proven insulation as it seeks to lead the global race for green technology, a draft European Union document shows.

The windpower sector must shift offshore and strive to provide a fifth of EU electricity by 2020 -- ahead of industry goals -- said a draft of the European Commission's long-awaited Strategic Energy Technology Plan.

The so-called SET-Plan lays out the EU's strategy for promoting hi-tech solutions to climate change to give European businesses a head start as the world switches to low-carbon energy.

Billions of euros will have to be poured into research to avoid falling behind the United States, which is pouring $777 million into energy research, the draft, obtained by Reuters ahead of the plan's release next month, said.

"Basic research is chronically underfunded in the EU," the report said. "We need to stimulate and incentivize our best brains to push back the frontiers of science."

The project envisages 25 to 30 "smart cities" -- highly insulated cities that glean energy from their waste and the sun and wind overhead and channel it down to the electric cars, trams and buses in the streets below

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Source: Reuters