- European Parliament has officially voted in favor of increasing renewable energy target for EU in its final energy consumption to 45% by 2030
- It expects every member state of the 27-nation bloc to develop 2 cross-border projects for the expansion of green electricity
- The parliament has also voted to revise Energy Efficiency Directive to reduce final energy consumption by at least 40% by 2030
The European Parliament has finally voted to increase the European Union’s (EU) share of renewable energy in its final energy consumption to 45% by 2030, with the energy savings targets increased to 40% of final energy consumption and 42.5% of primary energy consumption.
The increase to 45% is up from the current official target of 32% under Renewable Energy Directive II (RED II), as recommended by the European Commission (EC) under REPowerEU plan in May 2022 which aims to grow the overall solar installations in the bloc to 600 GW AC/750 GW DC by 2030 (see EU Announces 600 GW AC Solar Target By 2030).
“Only the expansion of renewable energy means true independence,” said Lead Member of the European Parliament (MEP) on the renewable energy directive Markus Pieper. “We strongly support the increased 2030 target of 45%. We confirm the need for more cross-border cooperation to expand renewable energy deployment, and call for a diversified import strategy for hydrogen.”
Under the new legislation, transport sector is expected to bring down its GHG emissions by 16% with the help of renewables especially hydrogen.
The parliament tasks every member state to develop 2 cross-border projects for the expansion of green electricity. Those countries that have an annual electricity consumption of more than 100 TWh will need to develop a 3rd one by 2030.
Along with voting to increase the renewable energy target, the parliament has also backed the revision of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) to reduce final energy consumption by at least 40% by 2030 and 42.5% in primary energy consumption, compared to 2007 projections. Member states will need to put in place binding national contributions to achieve these targets.
According to the European Parliament, the revision of these 2 laws will help EU fight climate change and boost energy security.
Following this vote, the MEPs, EC and the Czech Presidency of the Council will now enter into so called trilouge negotiations this autumn. The European Commission has also proposed a 45% share by 2030 as part of its RePower EU package announced in May 2022. Only the European Council of the Energy Ministers is still asking for a 40% renewables target.
“More renewables in our energy mix means less dependency on dangerous fossil fuels and more affordable clean energy for European households and businesses. With the European Parliament and Commission having said ‘Yes to 45% RES’, we call on the Council to match this level of ambition,” said Policy Director, SolarPower Europe (SPE) Dries Acke.
