The European Parliament passed an amendment to the Renewable Energy Directive on the 12th. It is expected that the proportion of renewable energy in 2030 will reach 42.5%, with a target of 45%, and requires the government to set up a special renewable energy area. The application process for new project sites in the special area must be completed within one year. to accelerate progress in renewable energy.
The EU reached an agreement on renewable energy targets in March, but reached a deadlock in May over whether hydrogen produced by nuclear power (called pink hydrogen) counts as renewable energy. In the end, the EU made small concessions on ammonia production from nuclear energy in exchange for the passage of the amendment. The bill will officially take effect after it passes the Council.
Accelerate the review of new projects in the renewable energy construction zone within one year
On the 12th, the European Parliament passed an amendment to the "Renewable Energy Directive (RED)" with an overwhelming vote of 470 in favor, 120 against, and 40 abstentions. It is expected that the proportion of renewable energy in the EU in 2030 will be 42.51% of final energy consumption. TP3T, the goal is to achieve 45%. The target of the current directive is 32%, which is equivalent to raising the target by 10.5%.
The Associated Press cited data from the international energy think tank Ember as saying that in 2022, the EU’s 22% of electricity will be produced from wind power and solar energy, surpassing the 20% of natural gas for the first time. Coal-fired power generation accounted for 16%.
In order to accelerate the development of renewable energy sources such as solar photovoltaics and wind power generation, the bill also regulates the approval time for renewable energy applications.
The European Parliament stated that member states should establish "renewables go-to areas". The review process for new renewable energy sites in the special zone shall not exceed 12 months. Case sites not within the special zone must complete the review within 24 months.
According to the European Commission document, the renewable energy acceleration zone should give priority to man-made buildings, such as: rooftops, transportation facilities areas, landfills, parking lots, industrial parks, artificial lakes, reservoirs, etc., and exclude "Natura 2000" protected areas , national parks, confirmed migratory bird migration routes and other sensitive areas.
In the transportation sector, the EU requires vehicles to use a greater proportion of advanced biomass fuels or hydrogen energy to reduce carbon emissions by 14.5% in 2030.
To resolve the pink hydrogen deadlock, nuclear energy ammonia production is partially included
The European Parliament and the Council reached an agreement on the amendment to the Renewable Energy Directive at the end of March. However, the European Parliament and the Council reached a deadlock in May over the definition of hydrogen energy, resulting in a postponement of the vote on the bill.
The pro-nuclear camp, led by France, strongly supports pink hydrogen as one way to achieve renewable energy goals. According to the Financial Times, the EU made small concessions on the use of nuclear energy to produce ammonia in exchange for the passage of the bill.
The Associated Press reported that Finnish Green Alliance MP Ville Niinistö said that Europe is saying goodbye to fossil fuels. The energy crisis has taught us that we must be completely independent of oil and gas, especially oil and gas from Russia.
According to Balkan Green Energy News, some environmental groups criticized the bill, which mandates the review time of renewable energy zone projects, which may undermine a complete environmental impact assessment.
References:
*AP (September 12, 2023) EU lawmakers approve a deal to raise renewable energy target to 42.5% of total consumption by 2030
*Financial Times (September 12, 2023), EU legislators vote to sharply increase bloc's renewable energy target
*European Parliament (12 September 2023), MEPs back plans to boost use of renewable energy
*Balkan Green Energy News (13 September 2023), European Parliament votes to double renewables share in consumption by 2030
Source: Environmental Information Center
