European Commission

A flurry of clean energy announcements in the European Union this year bodes well for the expansion of renewables but there will be a race against time to get key legislation adopted before next summer’s European elections.

The European Commission says it is unnecessary and unadvisable to prolong the emergency measures for the energy market that were adopted at the end of 2022. This means that the €0.18 ($0.19)/kWh price cap on solar and other renewables will no longer apply in most member states from June 30.

Researchers associated with the European Commission have developed a new methodology to calculate the carbon footprint of PV modules for use in the context of the European Union’s ecodesign regulations.

The European Commission has opened a call for evidence on its plan to accelerate heat pump roll-out across the European Union. It is asking citizens and businesses for feedback on four strands of action, focusing on financing, legislation, skills, research and innovation. The call for feedback is open until May 26.

According to Aurora Energy Research, Europe is on track to install at least 95 GW of grid-scale battery energy storage systems by 2050, up from 5 GW of installed capacity today, and representing more than €70 billion ($76.9 billion) of investment.

The Croatian government has allocated €60 million ($65.6 million) in subsidies for businesses to install 80 MW of renewables and 20 MWh of batteries.

While few can doubt the emission-reduction might of solar; forced- and child labor in clean power supply chains is becoming a hot issue, which is why the EU is mulling a ban on goods proven to have traces of such labor practices. Diana Zadorozhna, a partner at renewables consultancy Everoze, looks at what companies can do to prepare for forced-labor legislation.

The European Commission has informally approved Portugal and Spain’s request to extend the so-called “Iberian exemption” mechanism. The measure, which limits the price of natural gas for electricity production, was originally scheduled to end in May, but it will now run until the end of the year.

The European Parliament and the Council have reached a provisional agreement to raise the EU’s binding renewable energy target for 2030 to a minimum of 42.5% of the overall energy mix. The bodies also agreed on a further 2.5% indicative target, which would set Europe on a path to at least 45% renewables within this decade.

With calls for a revival in European PV manufacturing becoming more urgent, the Environmental, Social, and Governance credentials of its PV producers are being touted as a way in which manufacturing can be supported or even protected. The case for the ESG credentials of European manufacturing was advanced by multiple speakers at the 2023 SolarPower Summit this week in Brussels.