The EU has decided: by 2030, renewable energies will have to cover 32% of energy consumption at EU level. In Transportation, the share of renewables will have to rise to 14% by the same date. These are the determinations of the agreement reached between the European institutions - Council, Parliament and Commission - on the new renewables directive, which updates the EU regulatory framework to 2030.
The agreement "represents a fundamental turning point in European policies to combat the climate." says Elettricità Futura, the association to which the majority of large companies in the electricity sector belong. However, the details of the agreement are not yet known and, according to reports from the Ansa agency, it would also provide for a reduction in costs for citizens and groups of citizens who want to produce energy from renewables for self-consumption and to stop using it of palm oil in biofuels by 2030.
The agreement, it was said, sets the target for renewables in transport at 14%, and that for advanced biofuels (ie from residues) at 3,5%, and introduces sustainability criteria for the use of forest biomass. The general target of 32% also provides for an upward revision clause in 2023. The new agreement updates the one defined in 2014 which set the target at 27%. For the first time – observes Ansa – a role is explicitly recognized for citizens and communities in the adoption of renewables, with a clear definition at EU level of “renewable energy community” and “self-consumption”.
There are also new features in the directive for national incentive systems, such as the prohibition of retroactive changes to support schemes that negatively affect the rights conferred and the economic viability of already approved projects.
"As a business system - underlines Simone Mori, president of Elettricità Futura, however - we are ready to face the challenge and we hope that the new RES Decree will be rapidly issued, which will allow the sector to resume investments and immediately start the path towards 2030" .
