The European Commission is set to table an emergency regulation to simplify and accelerate the permitting of renewables projects.
The Regulation would enact key measures initially set out in REPowerEU, Europe’s energy response to the war in Ukraine.
The proposal confirms the two-year deadline for permitting new renewable projects, and clarifies its scope by including the grid connection permit and approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment.
It also confirms the one-year deadline for permitting repowered projects and speeds up the grid connection for those projects that do not require new grid asset or grid reinforcement.
The measures would bring clarity on binding permitting deadlines, make it easier to repower wind farms, and ensure renewables are presumed to be of overriding public interest, according to trade group WindEurope.
The measures will be valid for one year, but the Commission leaves open the possibility of extending their duration until the completion of the ongoing legislative negotiations on REPowerEU, added the group.
Slow and complex permitting is holding back renewables projects and dangerously delays the energy transition, said the association.
For wind energy, the 510GW target means that Europe needs to build 39 GW of new wind farms every year up to 2030.
“Not only is Europe not building enough, but orders for new turbines are stalling: they fell by 36% in Q3 2022 compared with Q3 2021. Europe urgently needs to solve permitting and strengthen its wind energy supply chain,” said the group.
WindEurope chief Giles Dickson (pictured) said: ‘‘These emergency measures on renewables permitting are just what Europe needs.
“The IEA were clear last week. We might get through this winter. But next winter will be much tougher. We’ve got to build all the new renewables we can by then.
“That means emergency measures to tackle the biggest bottleneck which is red tape in permitting. And beyond next winter we’ve got to then keep building as much new renewables as possible to meet the new 2030 energy security targets.”