New Energy Externalities Development for Sustainability or “NEEDS” was an EC funded project aiming at formulating methods and estimating all costs (environmental and social as well as financial costs) of various energy systems in the future. Among the technologies under consideration are wind power, solar power, marine energy, advanced fossil fuels, and hydrogen technologies. NEEDS is partly an extension of the studies that cumulated in the Extern-E projects (reports 2003 and 2005). Yet, NEEDS incorporates a broader spectrum both geographically speaking and considering sources of energy. A quick overview is given in the NEEDS brochure. INE’s role will be to provide LCA studies on Hydrogen production via electrolysis and suggest future opportunities to produce and use hydrogen as well as to suggest methods of measuring external costs from using renewable energy sources. The first newsletter from NEEDS is downloadable from:
www.needs-project.org/docs/newsletter_04_2006.pdf.

All reports have been available at the Needs website. It was a special honer to work alonside great energy experts, amongst others the late Mr Woflrom Krewitt.