As part of its efforts to tackle the energy crisis, the European Commission plans to present a proposal for a Council of the European Union regulation aimed at boosting the deployment of renewable energy, according to a draft of the proposal obtained by EUROPE on Tuesday 8 November.
According to the draft document, the Commission states that a “faster deployment of renewables is necessary for a definitive end to the current emergency as it will immediately and structurally reduce demand for fossil fuels”.
It therefore wants to speed up the simplification of authorisation procedures for renewable energy projects which, thanks to their “low operational costs”, can “positively impact energy prices across the EU”.
In this light, the Commission wants renewable energy projects to be presumed to be in the overriding public interest and to serve public health and safety when weighing up legal interests. This would allow such projects to be exempted from a range of EU environmental rules contained in the directive on the conservation of natural habitats and wild fauna and flora (92/43) and the Directive on the conservation of wild birds (2009/147), on the basis of their alleged overriding public interest.
The draft also includes a paragraph stating that any killing or disturbance of species protected under the Birds and Habitats Directives “shall not be considered deliberate” where the renewable energy projects in question have adopted “appropriate” mitigation measures.
A simplified procedure specific to solar energy
The draft also provides for a faster and simpler permitting process for the installation of solar energy equipment.
The Commission therefore suggests that the process should not exceed one month, excluding solar installations in artificial water surfaces. This fast-track procedure would not apply to the installation of solar energy equipment in structures whose primary purpose is solar energy production. This would mean targeting in particular the deployment of solar installations for self-consumers of renewable energy.
Such installations would be exempted from the obligation to carry out a screening procedure and/or an environmental impact assessment.
In addition, for the installation of small-scale self-consuming renewable energy solar equipment (with a capacity of 50 kW or less), the permit would be considered granted in the absence of a response from the competent authorities or entities within one month of the submission of the application.
Accelerating the deployment of heat pumps
The Commission also wants to stimulate the installation of heat pumps by limiting the permit process to a maximum of 3 months.
It intends to propose that connections to the transmission or distribution network be allowed after notification to the competent entity for certain types of heat pumps, except in case of justified safety concerns or technical incompatibility of system components. This would include heat pumps with a capacity of up to 12 kW, as well as heat pumps installed by a self-consumer of renewable energy with a capacity of up to 50 kW, provided that renewable electricity accounts for at least 60% of the heat pump’s capacity.
Repowering of renewable energy projects
For the repowering of renewable energy plants, the draft proposal provides for a one-year permit procedure, including environmental assessments where required by law.
Where the renewal results in an increase in the capacity of the plant of up to 15%, connections to the transmission or distribution network would be authorised within one month of the application to the competent entity.
If a screening procedure and/or environmental impact assessment is required, this would be limited to the potential impacts arising from the change or extension to the original project.
In addition, renewable energy projects for solar installations would be exempted from the requirement to carry out a screening procedure and/or an environmental impact assessment if they do not result in the use of additional space and comply with the environmental mitigation measures applicable to the original installation.
A temporary emergency measure
As an emergency measure, this new initiative against the energy crisis would be limited to one year from its entry into force, with the possibility of extending it depending on the outcome of a Commission assessment carried out by 1 July 2023.
It would be based on Article 122 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), similar to recent legislative proposals to mitigate soaring energy prices (see EUROPE 13033/1, 13045/1). This is a special procedure allowing the EU Council, on a proposal from the Commission, to take decisions without the involvement of the European Parliament.
According to our information, the Commission intends to present the final version of its proposal on Wednesday 9 November.
See the draft: https://aeur.eu/f/3xv (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)