(Brussels Belgium) - The amendment to the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) has been on the table for a long time, now it has been decided. The Council of Member States of the European Union gave final approval to the document. As reported, there was already a provisional agreement between the Commission, Parliament and Council in March. Once the legislative process has been completed, the directive will enter into force following publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
The decision will significantly increase the European target for the share of renewable energies (RE) in total gross energy consumption by 2030 from the previous 32 percent to 45 percent. Of this, 42,5 percent must be provided by the member states. Otherwise there is a risk of infringement proceedings. In addition, 2,5 percent comes from further voluntary contributions from states or through pan-European measures. The planned expansion of renewable energies by 2030 will more than double compared to 2021 (22 percent), comments the Federal Ministry of Economics (BMWK).
- Buildings and traffic: 49 percent of the heat demand in buildings must be covered by renewable energies by 2030. In the transport sector, the previous target increases from 14 percent to 29 percent.
- Industry: 42 percent of hydrogen must come from renewable energy sources by 2030. According to BMWK, this corresponds to around 20 to 25 terawatt hours. By 2035, the proportion is expected to rise to 60 percent. Depending on the scenario, around 41 to 83 terawatt hours of green hydrogen would be required in Germany, “since industry is using more and more hydrogen at the same time”. In addition, it is planned that the share of renewable energies in total energy consumption in industry will increase by 1,6 percent every year.
- Emergency regulation expires: The regulations that were previously adopted as exceptions in the EU Emergency Regulation (EU 2022/2577) to accelerate the approval process for the expansion of renewable energies and networks will be codified. This means that modified administrative procedures are still possible for projects in the “overriding public interest”, which sometimes saves time-consuming testing steps. Approval processes for new renewable energy projects may not take longer than twelve months in certain areas.
- Cross-border projects: Each Member State must undertake at least one cross-border renewable energy cooperation project. These include, for example, joint offshore projects. Germany had already concluded its first such RED cooperation agreement with Denmark at the beginning of June. Accordingly, (as reported) offshore wind turbines with an output of at least three gigawatts are to be built on the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm by the early 2030s.
- Low carbon fuels: The production and use of low-carbon fuels do not meet the renewable energy targets. Hydrogen is therefore only counted if it is produced using renewable energies and not using nuclear power. This determination was uncertain for a long time and led to disputes within the EU because France in particular wanted to enforce a regulation on the use of its nuclear power with its nuclear power plant park and classify it as particularly environmentally friendly. A distinction is still made between green hydrogen and low-carbon hydrogen.
- E-fuels: From 2030 onwards, at least 1,2 percent of e-fuels must be used across the EU; in 2032 it will be 2,0 percent. The rate will rise to 2050 percent by 35. By 2050, at least 70 percent of aviation fuels in aviation must come from renewable energies, including e-fuels and biofuels from residual and waste materials.
In order to achieve the new targets, more than 100 gigawatts (GW) of new wind turbines and solar systems would have to be installed in the EU every year. The higher EU targets also formed the framework for further measures such as the solar strategy, which “provides for an approximate tripling of photovoltaic capacity to 2030 GW by 600,” according to the BMWK. “The new European rules will trigger a boom in investments in renewables and make them legally binding,” predicts Federal Economics and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck.
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RED-III requires 100 gigawatts of new wind turbines and solar systems annually. © RWE AG
