Energy: EU draft: Approve green electricity projects more quickly

New wind turbines and solar cells should be able to be approved much faster in the EU in the future.

According to a draft for a new EU law, certain green electricity projects should be approved within a year. “Administrative obstacles are the main bottleneck in the expansion of renewable energy,” says the draft, which is available to the German Press Agency. Accordingly, the lead time for such projects is currently up to ten years. The aim of the new law is to boost energy production from renewable sources such as wind, hydro and solar power.

Specifically, according to the draft, the EU states should identify areas on land or sea that are particularly suitable for the expansion of renewable energies – such as roofs, parking lots, industrial areas or even lakes and water reservoirs. This list would need to be subjected to an environmental assessment.

approval within one year

Projects in such an area should then be approved within a year. In special cases, this can be extended by three months. Facilities outside of these “go-to areas” should be authorized within two years, including possible environmental assessments. Overall, the approval procedures should be simplified and made more digital, they say.

The draft is part of a package that the EU Commission intends to propose to the EU countries and the European Parliament in mid-May in order to become independent of Russian energy as quickly as possible. These include plans to diversify gas and oil imports, import more climate-friendly hydrogen and expand renewable energies in partner countries, as another draft shows. The texts are subject to change before the performance.