EC to propose emergency measures to speed up renewables permitting

The European Commission (EC) is set to propose an Emergency Regulation to speed up permitting of renewable energy projects, wind industry group WindEurope said on Tuesday.

The regulation would enact measures included in the REPowerEU plan to cut Europe’s dependence on Russian gas imports, the body added. It confirms the two-year deadline for permitting new renewable energy projects and clarifies that the grid connection permit and approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment are included in the deadline. The proposal also confirms the one-year deadline for permitting repowered projects and accelerates the grid connection for projects not needing grid enhancements.

The emergency procedure means the measures can be implemented by the end of the year in all member states, says WindEurope.

The measures will be valid for one year with a potential for extension until the completion of the legislative discussions on REPowerEU.

“These emergency measures on renewables permitting are just what Europe needs,” said WindEurope chief executive Giles Dickson. “But next winter will be much tougher. We’ve got to build all the new renewables we can by then. That means emergency measures to tackle the biggest bottleneck which is red tape in permitting,” he added.

The emergency regulation is expected to help unlock projects that are now stuck in the permitting process.

Europe needs to ramp up wind farm construction to meet the EU’s ambition for 510 GW of wind energy by 2030, which means 39 GW of new capacity a year up to 2030. WindEurope recently reported a year-on-year drop in third-quarter wind turbine orders, leaving total orders in 2022 at 7.7 GW.

“Europe urgently needs to solve permitting and strengthen its wind energy supply chain,” the organisation reiterated.

Under the Emergency Regulation, renewable energy projects are to be presumed of overriding public interest. According to WindEurope this does not undermine EU environmental law as site locations should be rightfully selected and mitigation measures should be put in place.

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