Europe needs to improve permitting procedures for new, repowered and hybrid renewables projects if it is to meet its Green Deal goals, according to trade body WindEurope.
WindEurope, in a position paper ahead of the EU’s ‘Fit-for-55 Package’, said the bloc should not only mandate member states to speed up permitting but also show them how to do it.
It said: “WindEurope proposes that the EU spells out good permitting practices that empower national governments to address the critical bottlenecks in permitting.”
WindEurope chief executive Giles Dickson said: “The barrier to the expansion of wind energy needed for the Green Deal is not technology. Nor cost. Nor financing. It’s permitting.
“Europe is simply not permitting enough new wind farms to reach its renewable energy targets. The rules and procedures are too complex.
“There aren’t enough staff to process the permit applications. It’ll be nice to have a higher renewables target, but it’ll be academic if we don’t tackle permitting.”
The ‘Fit-for-55 Package’ aims to create the right framework for an emission reduction of 55% by 2030 and set the course for carbon neutrality by 2050.
The package will include a higher renewable energy target, but targets alone won’t deliver the wind volume Europe needs, said WindEurope.
It said currently Europe is not installing enough new wind.
The trade body expects wind installations to be 15GW a year in the period 2021-2025, but the EU needs 27GW annually if it wants to meet the new 55% emission reduction target.
WindEurope also called on the European Commission to take urgent action to facilitate the uptake of corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs).
It said the ‘Fit for 55 Package’ should ensure member states issue Guarantees of Origin to renewable electricity producers, irrespective of whether the renewable energy projects receive government support.
“Guarantees of Origin make electricity from wind ‘traceable’ and are indispensable to the development of corporate PPAs,” the trade body said.
The package should also further ensure that the Renewable Energy Directive reflects the need to prioritise direct renewable-based electrification.
WindEurope said this is the fastest and more efficient way to decarbonise Europe’s economies.
This should include a clear definition of renewable hydrogen and a robust traceability mechanism to underpin its market uptake towards competitiveness within this decade.
A revised EU Emission Trading System (ETS) can incentivise direct electrification and accelerate the expansion of renewable energies.
The ETS must align with the new 55% climate target through a mix of rebasing and adjustment in the linear reduction factor, WindEurope added.
It said the package also needs to ensure Europe’s climate commitment do not undermine the competitiveness of our industrial base.
A well-designed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism could play an important role and should reflect that Europe’s world-leading wind industry relies on global supply chains.
“It mustn’t undermine our competitiveness and allow for European exports that will deliver the global energy transition.”