Green Paper Lighting the Future: Accelerating the Deployment of Innovative Lighting Technologies

Green Paper Lighting the Future: Accelerating the Deployment of Innovative Lighting Technologies

[FROM http://www.electrical-efficiency.com/]

The European Commission adopted on 15 December 2011 a Green Paper « Lighting the Future: Accelerating the Deployment of Innovative Lighting Technologies ». This Green Paper intends to launch a broad debate with stakeholders to accelerate the large-scale deployment of SSL technology (Solid State Lighting). A public consultation has been opened in parallel and aims at collecting the contributions of all interested parties.

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Challenges
→ Identifying obstacles to the large-scale deployment of innovative lighting technologies

The Green Paper is designed to open a large public debate on obstacles to the wide-scale uptake of innovative lighting solutions of high-quality in the EU. It covers SSL technology in the broad sense and comprises both Light Emitting Diodes (LED) and Organic LED (OLED).

→ Defining a coherent set of strategic objectives

The Green Paper is designed to help the EU achieve the energy efficiency, industrial development and innovation objectives set in the frame of the Europe 2020 strategy. It pursues two key objectives: raising awareness among European users, professional or public, about the quality of SSL technologies and their energy efficiency potential; proposing policies which foster the competitiveness and global leadership of the lighting industry.

→ Seeking the views of all interested parties of the sector

A public consultation is open until 29 February 2012 which addresses both the demand and supply sides of innovative lighting technologies; it targets both European users, professional or private, and the European lighting industry. Individual consumers and professional users, the lighting industry, the building and construction sector, architects, lighting designers, electrical installer, municipalities, public authorities, civil society communities, professional associations and all other relevant stakeholders involved or interested in the topic are invited to participate. Member States and the European Parliament are also invited to take part to the debate.

→ Exploring new measures

The Green Paper raises the question of the need for new instruments, both voluntary and mandatory, at EU level, to allow a wider market uptake for SSL technologies. It highlights a series of actions the European Commission is considering to overcome current obstacles to a large-scale penetration of innovative lighting technologies.

The initiatives considered

The Green Paper highlights a series of initiatives that could be launched at EU level to promote the large-scale deployment of SSL products:

→ Concerning consumers and users, the objectives are to:

-Better inform consumers on SSL products and ensure that the latter conform to EU legislation on minimum product performance and safety requirements;

-Create SSL lead markets for cities for SSL products by mobilizing the ELENA technical assistance facility or the European Energy Efficiency Fund (EEEF) and organising awareness-raising campaigns to cities;

-Create SSL lead markets for SSL products in public and residential buildings by fully implementing political and legislative instruments and providing incentives.

→ Concerning the European lighting industry, the objectives are to:

-Secure the supply of scarce raw materials and improve recycling of end-of-life products;

- Improve access to intellectual property rights and SSL products standardisation, including on safety issues, environmental aspects and procedures and common methodologies for measuring the performance of SSL products and systems;

- Strengthen R&D in photonics in general and in SSL in particular, and improve the market uptake of R&D results;

-Improve learning and training through vocational and lifelong learning and training of the actors of the sector;

-Strengthen the SSL value chain (from raw materials to manufacturing and final products, including component and equipment suppliers) to overcome existing fragmentation in the lighting industry and to create cooperation platforms along the value chain;

-Strengthen the links between the industry and consumers to encourage a fast uptake of products;

-Develop a European approach to SSL bringing together the European Commission and industry representatives.

Next steps
The results of the public consultation will be summarised in a report which will feed into the reflection of the European Commission on the necessity to take new regulatory or non-regulatory measures to accelerate the deployment of innovative lighting technologies throughout the EU. Proposals could be made in the next months.

Sull'argomento pubblicata una news da rinnovabili.it

... gli Stati membri sono impegnati nella riduzione delle emissioni di almeno il 20% entro il 2020 alla quale va accompagnato un miglioramento dell’efficienza energetica di eguale valore. Come parte di questo sforzo, la Commissione europea ha pubblicato il Green Paper “Lighting the Future – Accelerating the deployment of innovative lighting technologies” che sta aumentando ulteriormente la consapevolezza dell’importanza dell’illuminazione LED nel futuro energetico del pianeta. Il settore illuminazione, che oggi dà impiego a circa 150mila persone in Europa, muove un volume d’affari di circa 20 milioni di euro ... www.rinnovabili.it/ambiente/ue-per-lefficienza-energetica-si-parta-dellilluminazione39912/