On Monday 13 May, several environmental NGOs – the Oeko Institute, CAN Europe, WWF EU, Birdlife Europe and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) – jointly analysed and recommended strategies for the spatial planning of renewable energies and the designation of Renewable Acceleration Areas (RAAs), which will be in line with the European Commission’s guidelines.
Their recommendations focus on early public participation, prioritising artificial and dual land use areas for renewable energy development, taking into account the specific shortcomings of each country, and promoting coordination between national, regional and local spatial planning frameworks.
The analysis, which covers six countries (Estonia, Germany, Greece, Spain, Poland and Portugal), has revealed that the majority of countries are ill-prepared when it comes to designating RAAs and environmental sensitivity mapping for the deployment of renewable energy sources, with the exception of Portugal, which is a front runner in the mapping of renewable acceleration areas despite administrative difficulties and a lack of public participation.
Estonia and Germany, meanwhile, excel at inclusive public participation that is well integrated into their spatial planning processes.
Read the publication here: https://aeur.eu/f/c7e (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)