With its strong commitment to the increase of renewable energy to at least 20% in 2020, the European Union has taken on a leading role in the world, when it comes to energy system change. Success with this long term project requires first and foremost a stable political framework, as well as a well-tailored support system, financial, technical and administrative, to overcome the obstacles existing in distorted energy markets. In the EU, the binding target for 2020 and the respective framework provided by Directive 2009/28/EC seems to show success. However, there are still issues to be solved, for example as regards grid access and the potential of distributed generation. Furthermore, some Member States are reconsidering their policies and thereby endanger the achievement of the envisioned target. Also, one would need to look at the time beyond 2020 already to guarantee that the environment will remain stable. From an international perspective, Europe could be taken as a role model. However, blatant transfer cannot be an option, as all countries and markets differ and there is no "one size fits all". This article seeks to address some of the challenges renewable energy faces, suggest some solutions and explore some potentials - from a European point of view and based on European experiences. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.