But to achieve the massive deployment of renewable technologies needed to reach the 40% renewable energy target included in the ‘Fit for 55’ package, the permitting bottlenecks must be tackled. Indeed, the urgency to accelerate permitting and the rollout of renewables was this week a focus of REPowerEU – the Commission’s plan for more affordable, secure and sustainable energy, following the increase of wholesale prices, and the invasion of Ukraine.
In our recent amendment proposals on the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), we recommended that the Commission should issue guidelines to shorten and simplify the permitting process, including Key Performance Indicators to assess progress.
The Commission should also take a more active approach to monitoring the implementation of permitting rules, for example, through an explicit consideration of the permitting process in national energy and climate plans.
We also called for a Technical Support Instrument, financed by the EU budget, and directed at tackling a shortfall in human resources and technical expertise among Member States, to help them deal with the permitting process.
Addressing the causes of permitting delays and speeding up the generation of clean, green energy would also have a key role in decarbonising transport. Electrification is seen as the most cost-effective solution for most forms of road transport – and with 130 million electric vehicles destined for Europe’s roads by 2035, the need for speed has never been greater.
We also recommended that electricity from renewable energy sources be allowed to play a part in decarbonising heating and cooling, district heating and cooling, and industry. Hence, electricity from renewable sources should be counted towards the renewable energy sub-targets in these sectors if the renewable nature of the electricity can be proven.
Finally, as part of their electrification framework, Member States could support electrification through taxation. The RED should also incentivise Member States to support renewable energy sources (RES)-based electrification, and avoid taxes and levies that distort the economic efficiency of the Emissions Trading System’s market mechanisms.