The EU is planning to introduce emergency regulations! Accelerate the approval process of solar energy projects

To address the ripple effects of the energy crisis and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Commission has proposed a temporary emergency regulation aimed at accelerating the development of renewable energy.

The proposal is planned to be implemented for one year, aiming to eliminate administrative red tape in the licensing and development processes, enabling renewable energy projects to be put into operation quickly. The proposal particularly emphasizes "technologies and project types with rapid development potential and minimal environmental impact".

According to the proposal:

• The grid connection license period for solar photovoltaic power stations and their co-site energy storage systems installed on artificial structures (buildings, parking lots, transportation infrastructure, greenhouses) will be shortened to a maximum of one month.

• Adopting the "positive administrative silence" principle, such facilities and solar power stations with a capacity of less than 50kW will be granted approval exemptions.

• The new regulations include: temporarily relaxing the environmental requirements for new renewable energy power plants, simplifying the approval procedures and setting the maximum approval time limit; If existing renewable energy power plants need to increase their capacity or resume production, the environmental impact assessment (EIA) standards they require can also be temporarily relaxed and the approval procedures simplified. The maximum approval period for installing solar power generation devices on buildings shall not exceed one month. The maximum time limit for existing renewable energy power plants to apply for commissioning or resumption of production shall not exceed six months. The maximum approval period for the construction of geothermal power stations does not exceed three months. The environmental protection and public protection standards required for the construction or expansion of these renewable energy facilities can be temporarily relaxed.

As part of the measures, solar, heat pump and clean energy power plants will be regarded as "overwhelming public interest" (overriding public interest) and can benefit from simplified assessment and regulatory processes provided that "appropriate mitigation measures are taken and their effectiveness is effectively monitored".

Kadri Simson, the European Union's energy commissioner, said: "The EU is accelerating the development of renewable energy and expects the newly installed capacity this year to reach a record 50 gigawatts (GW)." To effectively address high electricity prices, ensure energy independence and achieve climate goals, we need to further accelerate our pace.

As part of the REPowerEU plan announced in March this year, the EU promptly announced its plan to raise the solar target for 2030 to 740 gigawatts of direct current (GWdc). The development of solar photovoltaic in the European Union is expected to reach 40 gigawatts by the end of the year. However, the European Commission stated that to achieve the 2030 target, the annual new installed capacity needs to be further increased by 50% to 60 gigawatts per year.

The European Commission stated that the proposal aims to accelerate development in the short term to alleviate administrative bottlenecks, protect more European countries from the weaponization of Russian gas, and also help lower energy prices. These emergency regulations are tentatively set to be implemented for one year.