MORE CONSISTENT BUT NOT LESS COMPREHENSIVE
Renewable energy associations’ joint messages on ‘Planning and reporting obligations as part of the Energy Union Governance’
The renewable energy sector welcomes the development of integrated national plans and reports as part of the governance of the Energy Union
Integrated plans and reports can pave the way for a more holistic and consistent approach and will facilitate the exploitation of the many synergies between the different dimensions of the Energy Union. The industry recognises that a more coherent planning and reporting process requires a level of streamlining, but stresses that this should not come at the expense of detailed and good quality data.
For areas with EU binding targets, technical requirements to be enshrined in sectoral legislation
We see integrated plans and reports as important political documents focusing on trends and projections. These documents should, contain national energy transition roadmaps for the year 2030 in line with the EU long-term decarbonisation objective amongst other things.
More solid and comprehensive information is however necessary to assess the implementation of specific technical measures, to identify gaps and inefficiencies at an early stage, and to propose eventual corrective actions. This is why some requirements in areas with EU binding targets should come on top of the overarching information embedded in the integrated plans and reports and enshrined in sectorial legislation, e.g. the Renewable Energy Directive, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, etc.
Integrated planning to start as soon as possible and be based on standardised templates
In line with the findings of the Mid-Term Evaluation of the RED, only plans and reports based on binding templates can ensure consistency, accountability, enforceability, and investment security. Additionally, the integrated planning process should start as soon as possible to allow the industry to prepare its next investment cycle. The European Commission should pursue an active political dialogue with Member States to make sure that concrete national commitments and enabling policies for renewables are in place in due time.
The future regulatory and governance frameworks for renewables energies should encompass:
– national benchmarks produced by the European Commission and enshrined in the revised Renewable Energy Directive to facilitate the attainment of the EU RES target;
– stronger and more transparent European Commission monitoring and enforcement powers; and
– stronger involvement of local authorities and stakeholders in decision-making.
Indispensable elements of future RES plans and reports are:
– RES trajectories including interim targets and progress broken down by sector (electricity, heating and cooling, transport) and source;
– regional cooperation;
– grid connection procedures;
– RES in buildings;
– national support frameworks, including support for prosumers;
– priority access and dispatch;
– efforts to improve licensing and authorisation procedures, including on the regional level;
– professional certification and public awareness; and
– public R&I spending by technology.
We further suggest documenting the development of system flexibility. Member States should outline planned measures to acquire enhanced flexibility, for example phase-out plans for coal-fired power plants.
In many Member States existing planning and reporting requirements have proven to be successful in promoting a concerted dialogue between governments and the renewable energy industries, in removing non-technical barriers (e.g. grid access), in improving awareness and resource assessment, and in triggering innovation. The post-2020 regime should keep, as much as possible, all the positive elements of the current system.
