Renewables

EU to accelerate renewables permitting, cut environmental requirements

EU accelerate renewables permitting cut environmental requirements

Photo: Christophe Licoppe / EC - Audiovisual Service

Published

November 10, 2022

Country

Comments

comments icon

0

Share

Published:

November 10, 2022

Country:

Comments:

comments icon

0

Share

The European Commission tabled a temporary emergency regulation with the aim to double the size of new renewable energy installations to 100 GW next year by cutting red tape. The measures would include lowering environmental requirements.

The European Commission proposed a temporary emergency regulation to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy within the plan to end the European Union’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

Measures to loosen the administrative procedures were already addressed in the REPowerEU plan, but the situation in the energy markets has worsened since then, prompting the need for urgent action, according to the EU’s executive body. It said the new rules would be introduced for one year by the European Council, to bridge the gap until the new Renewable Energy Directive comes into force.

The International Energy Agency has highlighted a risk of a shortage of 30 billion cubic meters of gas ahead of the start of the heating season next year

“By doing so, we can unblock a myriad of renewable projects already in the next 12 months. According to calculations by the IEA, we could replace 14 billion cubic meters of gas already next year,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, pointing out that the International Energy Agency has highlighted a risk of a shortage of 30 billion cubic meters of gas ahead of the start of the heating season next year.

Too many projects are stuck in permitting process

The EU is set to add 50 GW this year from renewables, two times more than in 2021, she stressed and expressed the ambition to boost the additions to 100 GW next year.

“There are countless renewable projects that are just waiting to be approved. Some could deliver cheap energy immediately, in a matter of weeks or months. I am thinking, for instance, about solar panels on existing buildings, or the repowering of wind parks. But too many of these projects are stuck because of long permitting procedures,” Von der Leyen stated.

EU is jeopardizing environmental safeguards, EEB warns

Rooftop photovoltaic installations and solar power facilities up to 50 kW would be exempted from environmental impact assessments. The European Environmental Bureau claims it would be done at the expense of environmental safeguards and democratic checks and create legal uncertainty.

“Today’s proposal curtails environmental assessments that provide fundamental nature and social safeguards and proposes measures that de facto amend cornerstone EU environmental regulation… Renewables roll-out can be accelerated by ensuring better implementation of environmental assessments and tackling administrative bottlenecks – i.e. by fostering digitalization of procedures and establishing one-stop-shops for project applicants – and improving resources in all levels of competent authorities for both permitting and environmental assessments,” according to the network of environmentalist organizations.

Timmermans: Environmental requirements will be scaled back only where there would be no concerns

Conversely, European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans, in charge of the European Green Deal, said the focus is “on areas where there is strong evidence that there would be no concerns, such as solar panels on existing or already planned structures, or the renewal and upgrading of current plants that are near the end of their economic life.”

In essence, the proposal calls for declaring that photovoltaics, heat pumps and other clean energy facilities are of “overriding public interest” and imposing shorter deadlines for permitting.

Comments (0)

Be the first one to comment on this article.

Enter Your Comment
Please wait... Please fill in the required fields. There seems to be an error, please refresh the page and try again. Your comment has been sent.

Related Articles

CyberGrid is committed to energy transition in SEE with its aggregation solutions Candellari

CyberGrid is committed to energy transition in SEE with its aggregation solutions

28 May 2025 - CyberGrid's Nikolaj Candellari said at BEF 2025 that the firm believes in the energy transition in SEE, contributing to the process with its solutions

electricity market liberalization kosovo

Kosovo’s electricity market liberalization sparks protest by businesses

28 May 2025 - Starting on June 1, businesses with an annual turnover of over EUR 10 million will be required to buy electricity on the open market

ACER Zinglersen Integrate electricity markets flexibility new era already here BEF 2025

ACER’s Zinglersen: Integrate electricity markets to bolster flexibility as new era is already here

28 May 2025 - The number of hours with negative power prices reached an all-time high for two years in a row, which means a new era is here, ACER's Director Christian Zinglersen said at BEF 2025

NGEN BEF 2025 decentralized electricity grid Roman Bernard BEF 2025

NGEN showcases solutions at BEF 2025 for decentralized electricity grid of tomorrow

28 May 2025 - Slovenia-based NGEN is expanding throughout Europe with its software platforms and equipment and BESS for decentralized grids