New EU plan to speed up green energy investment, end Russian energy use

20 May 2022

According to the European Commission, its new REPowerEU package of measures helps European citizens and businesses save energy, produce more clean energy, and make the European Union independent from Russian fossil fuels well before 2030. Once implemented, it is expected to help Europe save €100 billion annually on gas, oil and coal imports.

The plan sets out a series of legislative and non-legislative measures to rapidly reduce the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels and accelerate the green energy transition kick-started by the European Green Deal and last summer’s Fit for 55 package. 

When announcing the package Wednesday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the plan’s three cornerstones would help “reduce as soon as possible our dependency on Russian fossil fuels,” a statement echoed by both Commission clime czar Frans Timmermans and Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson. 

Among the key proposals are the Commission’s plans to further raise the target for renewable energy from 40% to 45% by 2030, and the energy efficiency target to 13% from 9%. The proposals are critical, given the previous targets were only proposed as part of last year’s Fit for 55 package, with both the Renewable Energy Directive (REDII) and the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) still undergoing negotiations. In fact, the European Parliament’s Industry and Energy Committee, which leads on both files, is set to vote on the respective files next month.

To achieve these ambitious targets, the Commission aims to further accelerate the rollout of renewable energy across the EU, with a particular focus being placed on wind and solar energy. Key among these are a new Solar Strategy and plans to streamline permitting procedures to speed up the construction of new wind and solar parks. Under the new draft plans, new wind and solar projects would be designated as projects of “overriding public interest”, and ‘go-to’ areas introduced at the national level in zones with low environmental risk. This would limit the extend to which NGOs or other bodies could oppose and stop the construction of new installations.

Meanwhile, through the Solar Strategy, the Commission plans to rebuild the European solar industry and quadruple the level of gained solar energy to 320GW by 2025 and even 600GW by 2030. For this, it intends to initially mandate the use of solar panels on all commercial and public buildings, with it being extended to private buildings at a later stage. 

Moreover, to diversify Europe’s energy imports, REPowerEU also foresees an action plan on biomethan to replace natural gas imports with 35bcm of biogas by 2030, as well as hydrogen partnerships with strategic third countries like Egypt, Israel, Algeria and Qatar, which, according to Timmermans, together with some technical measures from the Commission should further incentivise the use of green hydrogen in Europe and around the world.