Green Deal

The growth of European rooftop solar continues this year, with innovative companies raising capital to develop the market. It’s an encouraging trend with the potential to accelerate rooftop solar adoption. pv magazine correspondent Valerie Thompson takes a closer look.

The €400 million, three-year scheme will guarantee price stability for developers while limiting costs to the Danish treasury and applies to on and offshore wind, wave power and hydro, as well as solar.

The credit, to be made available to public bodies in the bloc’s 27 member states, would be bolstered by €10 billion from the EIB and should not, said the Council of Ministers, support nuclear or fossil fuel projects.

The proportion of clean energy consumed in the EU continues to rise but the European Commission’s State of the Energy Union report is critical of failings in energy efficiency, low-carbon-R&D spending, and the removal of fossil fuel subsidies.

Germany will assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union on July 1 and will be responsible for progressing EU legislation over the next six months.

The European Commission has positioned the Green Deal at the center of its policy priorities. The goals have been set: climate-neutrality, zero greenhouse gas emissions, and the complete decarbonization of the energy sector by 2050. The stakes are high, writes SolarPower Europe CEO Walburga Hemetsberger, but thus far Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has made good on her promises.

In 2019, the European Commission presented the European Green Deal, under which it aims to become climate-neutral by 2050. In May of this year, the commission also unveiled a new instrument to fund the bloc’s recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, in line with the Green Deal principles. This reinforced the drive for renewables investment. pv magazine examines what the latest developments mean for solar.

Although decried for lacking ambition and as an abdication of responsibility in some quarters, the climate law proposed by the European Commission may be more ambitious than it first appears, as Felicia Jackson, from the center for sustainable finance of the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London – considers here.

The European Green Deal needs better and longer-lasting products, and that includes solar panels, says ECOS, the environmental NGO specialising in ecodesign and standardisation.

European partners have submitted a joint proposal to use EU-made solar modules and wind turbines to power green hydrogen for use by heavy industry. The partners hope to secure designated status and backing from the bloc’s deep coffers.