Renewable Energy Directive

The European Commission says only one member state, Denmark, has transposed provisions covering permissions for renewable energy projects into national law. It has launched infringement procedures on 26 other countries and has given a two-month deadline.

Acceleration areas and shortened approval procedures are intended to ensure faster expansion of wind and solar parks as well as energy storage at the same locations. The move implements requirements from the EU Renewable Energy Directive of 2023. Approvals will also be facilitated for electrolyzers to ramp up hydrogen production.

The European Commission has shared updated documents with its member states for speeding up permitting procedures and designing auctions for renewables. It includes the use of non-price criteria in auctions, which the commission says will allow higher value-added projects to be rewarded.

In November 2022, Germany’s Energie Baden Württemberg and steelmaker Salzgitter Group signed one of Europe’s first power purchase agreements (PPAs) for hydrogen production. More have followed and with the European Union introducing rules to govern green hydrogen, an industry is planning for its future.

A flurry of clean energy announcements in the European Union this year bodes well for the expansion of renewables but there will be a race against time to get key legislation adopted before next summer’s European elections.

The European Union has set ambitious targets for solar PV expansion but is Brussels designing the right policies to support growth? Andreas Walstad investigates.

The current planning regulations would mean Italy not hitting its 2030 climate change targets for another 70 years and clean energy trade bodies say the Simplification Decree being debated in parliament – which was drafted to secure €191 billion of EU cash and loans – does not go far enough.

The regulation needs updating to incorporate a raised emissions reduction ambition which will target a 38-40% fall in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

Long awaited – and even longer debated – the 1000 pages of legislation have finally been adopted by all EU institutions. Over the coming 18 months, there will be changes, some big, some small, to the markets in Europe. Across the continent, the renewable energy industry is likely to benefit.

Despite solar’s explosive growth, the bloc is unlikely to meet its 20% clean energy target. Transport in particular remains a drag, with slow adoption rates for alternative fuels. Wind power supplanted hydro as Europe’s largest renewable electricity source.