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Energy policy dates back to the beginnings of European integration, with the ECSC Treaty on coal and steel and the Euratom Treaty on the civil use of nuclear energy. However, it really took off in the 1990s with the creation of a genuine internal market for electricity and gas, the promotion of new energy sources and a more coordinated approach to security of supply.

Some 80% of the energy the EU consumes is from fossil fuels – oil, natural gas and coal. A significant and increasing proportion of this comes from outside the EU. Dependence on imported oil and gas, which is currently 50%, could rise to 70% by 2030. This will increase the EU’s vulnerability to supply cuts or higher prices resulting from international crises. The EU also needs to burn less fossil fuel in order to reverse global warming.
The way forward is a combination of energy savings through more efficient energy use, alternative sources (particularly renewable's within the EU), more efficient use of gas-fired co-generation plants, which also produce steam and heat, more use of biomass from organic matter in energy production and biofuels in transport, and more international cooperation.

Long-term security of supply also means not being over-dependent on a few countries for supplies, or compensating for that dependence by close cooperation, with countries such as Russia (a major source of fossil fuels and potentially of electricity), and with the countries of the Gulf region. Cooperation with developing or emerging economies includes investment and transfer of know-how in production and transport in the interests of both sides

Guided by international and EU level commitments such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Renewable's Obligation, this has given new impetus to the development of renewable energies (RE) and energy efficient technologies in South West England. As a peninsular region with many natural resources to be harnessed, the South West is well placed to spearhead the development of RE as a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels.

The South West’s Renewable Energy Framework was launched in April 2003 to coordinate the development of RE in the region for the next decade and beyond. Key priorities identified in the Framework are the development of wind, wave and solar power, promoting the link between RE and economic advantage, and the use of education to promote awareness of renewable's. REGEN SW, a not-for-profit company representing both the private and public sector, has been set up to assist with the delivery of the RE Framework.
http://www.regensw.co.uk/

EU Commissioner for Energy
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/commission_barroso/piebalgs/index_en.htm

EU Energy Policy
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/energy_transport/index_en.html

EU Energy Programmes
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/energy/en/pfs_4_en.html

EU Initiatives
http://www.managenergy.net/