The European Union looks set to overhaul the way renewable energy projects and power grids are financed, launching a new type of infrastructure bond and converging the EU's tangle of overlapping subsidies, writes Reuters. European leaders (European Council) will meet in Brussels for a February 4 summit to reconcile an EU goal of getting 20 percent energy from renewable sources by 2020 with a debt crisis that has driven several EU countries to the brink of insolvency.

A new feed-in tariff scheme has been established in Finland to promote the production of electricity based on wind power, biogas and wood-based fuel. In addition, the biofuel distribution obligation will increase from the current four to six percent for 2011-2014, followed by a phased increase to 20 percent by 2020.

In its drive towards a low-carbon economy, the EU must strive towards more ambitious CO2 reduction target while being cautious about the risk of decreasing its energy competitiveness in the immediate future, according to the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), a consultative body of the European Union.