Industry calls for final adoption of EU’s Renewable Energy Directive

June 15, 2023, by Amir Garanovic

Large energy consumers, renewable energy producers and other members of the energy industry and its supply chain have in a joint letter urged for the faster final adoption of the revised EU’s Renewable Energy Directive.

Illustration/Sabella’s tidal turbine (Courtesy of Sabella)

The revised Renewable Energy Directive will be central to the delivery of our energy security and climate objectives as set out in REPowerEU, Europe’s energy response to the Ukraine war.

Now, the industry has joined hands to express concern with the final adoption of the directive, voicing their concerns that the adoption of these measures is held up by a disagreement within Council on exemptions regarding a sub-target for the use of renewable fuels of non-biological origin.

“While we welcome the overall political agreement reached back in March, the embedded target will remain purely academic in the absence of delivery measures.

“Every day that passes without a final Renewable Energy Directive slows the deployment of renewables projects that are badly needed to deliver globally competitive and home-grown energy to European businesses and families.

“We therefore urge the Swedish Presidency to ensure the final adoption of the Renewable Energy Directive,” the joint letter states.

The letter, signed by Europe’s leading association for ocean energy industry – Ocean Energy Europe – further states that the disagreement is delaying the implementation of provisions, in particular on permitting, that are indispensable to the accelerated development of renewables.

According to the International Energy Agency, renewable energy auctions in Europe went undersubscribed by 14GW in the last year, largely due to slow and cumbersome permitting.

To remind, EU reached a provisional deal to raise the share of renewables in its final energy consumption to 42.5% by 2030, under the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive, back in March 2023.

The agreement raises the EU’s binding renewable target for 2030 to a minimum of 42.5%, up from the current 32% target and almost doubling the existing share of renewable energy in the EU. Negotiators also agreed that the EU would aim to reach 45% of renewables by 2030.

The informal agreement will have to be endorsed by both European Parliament and Council in order to come into law.