EU Agrees to 'Significantly Higher' Renewable Energy Targets

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--European lawmakers have finally agreed on a major increase to the region's renewable energy targets by 2030.

The update of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), which had been provisionally agreed earlier in the year, states that renewables will have to make up 42.5% of the European Union's (EU's) energy consumption by 2030, up from a previous target of 32%. The big jump has been accelerated by the EU's decision to end its reliance on Russian oil and gas imports following its invasion of Ukraine last year. In 2021, the Union got 22% of its energy from renewable sources, which means the region will have to almost double its share of power from renewables over the next seven years. Member States are being urged to go further and aim for 45% if possible.

The directive includes industry and transport in its scope for the first time, setting targets for the use of renewable, or "green," hydrogen. The deployment of renewables aims to achieve a 14.5% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from transport by 2030 through the use of more advanced biofuels, electrification and green hydrogen. The EU plans to produce 42% of its hydrogen from renewable energy sources by 2030, rising to 60% by 2035. This will be a big shift, if achieved, as 95% of hydrogen used in the EU is currently made using fossil fuels.

The key to making these higher targets possible will be a faster approval procedure for the deployment of renewables. The legislation sets out how it will now take less time to receive permits for new renewable energy power plants, such as solar panels or wind turbines, or to adapt existing ones. National authorities should take no longer than 12 months to approve new renewable energy installations, if located in so-called "renewables go-to areas". Outside such areas, the process should not exceed 24 months.

Lead Member of the European Parliament Markus Pieper said: "In our pursuit of greater energy independence and CO2 reduction, we have raised our renewable energy targets. This directive is evidence that Brussels can be unbureaucratic and pragmatic. We have designated renewables as an overriding public interest, streamlining their approval process. Our focus encompasses wind power, photovoltaics, hydropower, geothermal energy, and tidal currents. Biomass from wood will remain classified as renewable energy. Under the principle of 'Positive silence', investments will be deemed approved in the absence of administrative feedback. We now urgently need an EU electricity market design and an immediate shift to hydrogen for a greener transition."

The new targets should have been ratified by the European Council in the summer but were delayed by Ministers from some nations--especially France--looking for concessions that would allow nuclear-derived hydrogen count toward their green hydrogen targets. The current deal grants some concessions that will allow certain nuclear power plants to be used to produce low-carbon hydrogen.

"The revised directive will massively accelerate the expansion of renewable energies throughout the European Union," commented Robert Habeck, Germany's Economics and Climate Minister. "Wind and solar energy in particular are being expanded twice as fast as previously planned. The new European rules will trigger a boom in investments in renewables and make them legally binding."

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