WindEurope has called for EU Member States and the European Parliament to endorse the principle of overriding public interest as they finalise the new EU Renewable Energy Directive.
The group said that it is essential to accelerate the permitting processes and expand renewables – which are central to Europe’s climate change and energy security goals.
With the EU aiming at a major expansion of wind energy, from 190GW today to 510GW by 2030, the group warned that the continent is not building enough wind farms to reach this target.
A key reform, WindEurope noted, is to treat the expansion of renewables as a matter of overriding public interest.
“Enshrining the principle of overriding public interest would speed up permitting and increase the volume of permitted projects,” a WindEurope statement said.
“It would not entail any watering down of environmental standards. It would not in any way change the rules on environmental impact assessments. Wind farm developers would still need to show that there wasn’t a more suitable alternative location. They would still need to mitigate or compensate for any biodiversity impacts.”