Solar water heater wins big - as EU increases renewable energy target

Solar water heater wins big - as EU increases renewable energy target

Summary

Brussels - The European Parliament, European Council and European Commission have agreed to a binding 32% EU renewable energy target for 2030, up from the original proposal of 27%.

James Watson, CEO SolarPower Europe commented 'The deal is a good one for solar. We see a much more ambitious target than was expected just a few months ago and importantly we have a strong framework for self-consumption and prosumers. Households wake up this morning with the knowledge that they will have a new right - the right to self-generate, consume and store the energy they produce. This is a major achievement. We are also delighted to see that administrative procedures will be streamlined so that permitting for new installations can take no more than 1 year - this will hugely reduce the soft costs of solar. The deal also provides the freedom for countries to do solar specific tenders, which is a major bonus for the sector and will help support deployment of even greater volumes of solar. Overall there is much to celebrate and we congratulate the European policymakers on a historic deal.'

Aurélie Beauvais, Policy Director SolarPower Europe added 'Today's deal on the Renewable Energy Directive is a first and decisive step towards EU leadership in renewables. It carries not only strong ambitions to achieve a 32% renewable target by 2030, but implements the right tools to achieve it, notably by acknowledging the specificity and benefits of small-scale solar installations. The agreement also unlocks the potential of self-consumption in Europe. The picture will only be full once we have a done deal on Market design, but today is a sunny shiny victory for solar in Europe'.

The European Parliament and European Council will have to give the formal approval to the text agreed in the informal trialogues discussion. The Commission will also prepare a guidance document on the implementation of the Directive. Member States will have to apply the Directive in national laws to enter effect on 1 January 2021.