Commission presents guidance and recommendations to accelerate renewable energy roll-out ahead of REPowerEU anniversary  

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

Almost two years since the adoption of the REPowerEU Plan, the Commission is today providing additional support to Member States to further accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and reduce Russian fossil fuel imports. The Commission has adopted a series of new and updated recommendations and guidance documents to improve and streamline permitting procedures and auctions for renewables. These documents will help to implement the EU framework for renewable energy by improving the conditions for a rapid deployment of home-grown renewable energy. By boosting demand for clean technologies made in Europe, this initiative will also help reinforce industrial competitiveness, increase the resilience of the energy system, and deliver on the European Green Deal.

Faster and simpler permitting procedures

In the updated Recommendation on speeding up permit-granting procedures and its accompanying guidance adopted today, the Commission highlights ways to improve planning and permitting procedures for renewable energy and related infrastructure projects in the EU. The updated permitting guidance provides examples of good practice on faster and simpler permit-granting procedures, highlights the importance of digitalisation and community participation, human resources and skills; and outlines how to best handle site selection procedures and network connections.

The Commission has also adopted a further guidance document on designating renewables acceleration areas. Under the revised Renewable Energy Directive, these are locations where the deployment of renewable energy projects is not expected to have significant environmental impacts and the necessary procedures are therefore fast-tracked to ensure quick deployment of specific technologies. Key elements for selecting such areas are the availability of digital tools for planning and mapping, and data on the renewable energy capacity and on the potential environmental impact. In its guidance, the Commission also highlights the role of proper stakeholder engagement and public consultation to facilitate a successful designation of such acceleration areas.

Improved auction design

Auctions play a key role in the roll-out of renewable energy and, when well designed, can be supportive of the steady and sustainable growth of the EU economy. By outlining standard elements for the design of auctions for renewable energy, the Commission’s recommendation and guidance will make these procedures more harmonised and efficient, in line with the Net-Zero Industry Act. Today’s Recommendation and accompanying Guidance document will help Member States to design auctions that take into consideration objectives such as quality, contribution to resilience and environmental sustainability. The use of non-price criteria will allow higher value-added projects to be rewarded. It will help to develop Europe’s net-zero technology manufacturing ecosystem and ensure that projects are realised fully and on time. This will ensure that the clean energy transition goes hand in hand with a strong industrial base in Europe.

To further enhance visibility and predictability for investors across the whole renewables value chain, the Commission has also updated today the Union Renewables Development Platform, an online system where Member States will publish basic information about their auction schedules. This information should include the timing and frequency of the auctions, the auctioned capacity, the planned budget and the eligible technologies – as required by the Renewable Energy Directive. The Platform will provide companies with a single point of information for all renewable energy auctions planned across the EU.

Background

Renewable energy is a key component of the EU’s plan to reach climate neutrality by 2050. It is central to the European Green Deal, as well as to the REPowerEU Plan to phase out our imports of Russian fossil fuels . Under the revised Renewable Energy Directive, the EU is aiming to achieve a 45% share of renewable energy by 2030, with a legally binding minimum target of at least 42.5%. The acceleration of renewables is facilitated by a range of EU budgetary and policy tools, including the REPowerEU Chapters of the National Recovery and Resilience Plans, and the revised TEN-E Regulation which supports the development of cross-border clean energy projects including offshore electricity grids.

In the transition to a net-zero economy, the EU’s competitiveness will strongly rely on its capacity to develop and manufacture at home the clean technologies that make this transition possible. To make sure the EU’s economy is well equipped, last year, the Commission presented the Green Deal Industrial Plan  and notably proposed the Net-Zero Industry Act and the Critical Raw Materials Act to support the domestic manufacturing capacity of net-zero technologies and the sourcing of the necessary materials. With regard to renewables in particular, specific initiatives were recently taken to ensure European industries’ competitiveness, notably the European Wind Power Action Plan and the European Wind Charter, as well as the European Solar Charter.

For more information

Recommendation and guidance on speeding up permitting procedures

Guidance on designating renewables acceleration areas

Recommendation and guidance on renewables auction design

REPowerEU – Two years on – Progress webpage

REPowerEU – Two years on – Country-specific factsheets

Quote(s)

Renewable energy is key to achieving the decarbonisation of European industry. It also represents an economic opportunity for Europe in its own right, building on our existing global leadership in a number of key technologies. With today’s initiative, we are helping European businesses to speed up their investments in renewables and increase their roll-out across Europe. Thanks to the introduction of non-price criteria in auctions, we are giving our industry a chance to prosper at home and compete on a level playing field.

Maroš Šefčovič, Executive Vice-President for European Green Deal, Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight

Increased predictability and faster permitting are key to sending the right investment signals across the renewable energy value chain. Today’s guidance from the Commission will help Member States to accelerate the deployment of renewables. As we approach two years since the adoption of the REPowerEU Plan, it is important to give this extra boost to homegrown clean energy sources, to allow us to replace even more Russian fossil fuels.

Kadri Simson, Commissioner for Energy