The EU must produce more wind and solar electricity to meet its renewable energy targets, the EU Court of Auditors said in a report published on Thursday 6 June.
Between 2007 and 2020, the EU allocated around €8.8 billion to renewable energy projects under the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund, of which €972 million was invested in wind energy and €2.9 billion in solar energy.
The wind and solar energy sectors have both recorded strong growth since 2005, but there has been a slowdown since 2014, the auditors say. The Commission should urge Member States to support further deployment by organising auctions to allocate additional renewables capacity, promoting citizen participation and improving conditions for deployment. At the same time, the auditors warn that half of the Member States will face a significant challenge in trying to meet their 2020 renewables targets.
Six countries lagging behind. The EU aims to generate a fifth of its energy from renewables for electricity, heating and cooling and transport use.
In 2017, the share from renewable sources in the EU's gross final consumption of energy reached 17.5%, while the overall target for 2020 was set at 20%. This was almost double the figure recorded in 2005 (9.1%). Of the 28 Member States, 11 have already achieved their 2020 target: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Croatia, Italy, Lithuania, Hungary, Romania, Finland and Sweden.
The Court estimates that, of the remaining 17 countries, six Member States are “unlikely” to achieve their 2020 target: The Netherlands, France, Ireland, United Kingdom, Luxembourg and Poland.
The Court notes that currently the largest share of electricity produced from renewable sources is from wind and solar photovoltaic sources; the lower production costs of this type of electricity make them an increasingly competitive alternative to burning fossil fuels. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)