The European Commission has proposed a temporary emergency regulation to accelerate the development of renewable energy in response to the energy crisis and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This proposal, which will last for one year, aims to eliminate administrative red tape and speed up the deployment of renewable energy projects that have the least impact on the environment and the greatest potential.
According to the proposal, the permits for artificial structures, such as buildings, parking lots, transportation infrastructure, and greenhouses, as well as solar photovoltaic permits in energy storage systems on the same site, will be issued within one month. Facilities and solar power stations with a capacity of less than 50kW will be exempt from environmental assessment, and the concept of “active administrative silence” will be used.
Solar, heat pumps, and clean energy power stations will be considered as projects of “overwhelming public interest.” They will benefit from reduced evaluation and supervision, provided that appropriate relief measures are taken and their effectiveness is monitored.
The European Union plans to raise its solar target to 740GWDC in 2030 as part of the Re Power EU programs announced in March. This emergency proposal was announced after that. The EU’s solar photovoltaic development volume is expected to reach 40GW by the end of this year, but the committee said that to achieve the 2030 target, the development volume needs to be increased by 50% to reach 60GW per year.
The purpose of this proposal is to speed up the development of renewable energy and prevent more European countries from being affected by Russia’s natural gas weapons. It will also help to reduce energy prices. The emergency regulations will be implemented for one year.
Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice President of the European Green Agreement, said that renewable energy has achieved three wins for Europeans: it has lower production costs, helps to make the earth cleaner, and is not controlled by Russia. This proposal will help to quickly achieve the green transformation and respond to the energy crisis caused by the Russian and Ukraine War.
By setting the longest permit period for six months, this proposal can also accelerate the re-power supply of renewable energy power stations and simplify the connection process under the conditions of an additional 15% power capacity of the original project. 
