WindEurope wary EU emergency rules will chase away renewables investors

European renewable energy businesses are worried that new EU rules on revenue caps will put much needed renewables investments on hold.

Industry group WindEurope said that the emergency regulation to tackle high energy prices, initially intended as an EU-wide cap on all inframarginal power generation, does nothing to stop member states from inflicting additional taxes.

It added that some national governments are already planning new taxes that would be in addition to the emergency EU measures and warned this will chase renewables investors away from Europe to other places such as the US, where the recent Inflation Reduction Act offers significant incentives.

“The message to national Governments is simple: deviating from the EU-wide cap or applying additional taxes on electricity producers will stop renewables investments. And make it that much harder for Europe to get out of the energy crisis,” the organisation’s statement reads.

The comments come as EU energy ministers are meeting today to try to reach a political agreement on the European Commission’s proposal for an emergency intervention in the energy crisis that includes measures aimed at redirecting the energy sector’s surplus revenues to consumers and businesses.

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