Two European Nations Want More Clean Power

• EU commission says Austria and Slovenia want changes to their REPowerEU plans to further support renewables
• Austria intends to introduce a new support scheme for rooftop solar and develop a national hydrogen strategy to ramp up the use of renewable hydrogen
• Slovenia wants to facilitate renewable energy by bringing down permitting procedures and promote sustainable mobility

The European Commission (EC) is in receipt of requests from Austria and Slovenia to revise their REPowerEU plans as the member nations wish to incentivize and streamline permitting processes for renewable energy projects.

Austria wants to add 2 new reforms to its REPowerEU chapter to its €3.75 billion Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), both related to renewable energy support.

These relate to streamlining permitting procedures for renewable energy projects, adding a new support scheme for rooftop solar power installations in buildings owned by citizens and non-profit organizations, as well as for the adoption and implementation of a national hydrogen strategy to ramp up and use of renewable hydrogen.

Recently, Austria proposed to raise its solar energy ambition from 13 GW in 2030 to now 21 GW (see Austria Raising Renewable Energy Targets).

Slovenia, on the other hand, proposes to facilitate the deployment of renewable energy, shortening permitting procedures and promoting sustainable mobility.

"The investments aim at accelerating the decarbonization of Slovenia's industry, strengthening its national energy distribution network, and giving a boost to sustainable mobility, in both the public and private sector," stated the commission.

In September 2022, Slovenia secured €3.26 billion funding from the commission's Cohesion Policy to support its decarbonization efforts, including expanding solar and wind energy capacity (see €3.26 Billion For Slovenia's Sustainable Development).

According to the EC, the proposed revisions by both countries factor in very high inflation experienced in 2022. For Austria, the reason is also to consider its effects on supply chain disruptions and increased investment uncertainty in 2021-22.

The EC will now assess the proposals from both the EU nations, basis which a final decision will be taken.

The EU is supporting member nations financially with €723 billion in loans and grants as part of the REPowerEU Plan to support the bloc's transition to clean energy and diversify its energy supplies.