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Twelve EU countries demand more speed in the expansion of renewables

by AI | 16.Oct 2024 | Europe in brief AI

To advance the energy transition in Europe, the federal government believes that processes need to be accelerated. In a joint appeal with eleven other EU countries, Germany is now calling on the EU Commission to take action.

A wind turbine stands behind a high-voltage power line in a field. Photo: Hauke-Christian Dittrich/dpa

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Luxembourg – In order to advance the energy transition in Europe, the German government believes that, above all, sluggish approval processes must be tackled. “We need to speed up the approval procedures to ensure that we can further boost the ongoing wave of investment in solar and wind energy,” said Germany’s State Secretary for Economic Affairs Sven Giegold at a meeting of EU energy ministers in Luxembourg. 

Furthermore, the European energy market must be networked, “so that in the future everyone can benefit from cheap solar and affordable wind energy,” said the German politician. Investments in renewable energies are the backbone to ending Europe’s energy dependence on Russia.

Twelve EU countries present action plan to EU Commission

Together with eleven other member countries, Germany appealed to the EU Commission with a series of measures to promote investments in renewables. These should be “cornerstones of our energy policy priorities and those of the next European Commission,” according to the joint paper. In addition to German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, his responsible colleagues from Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Italy, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain signed.

They are calling on the new EU Commission, among other things, to propose a law for faster approval procedures, and the authority should also develop instruments for member states to better manage the integration of volatile production. Solar or wind energy, for example, generate energy inconsistently, as the sun does not shine continuously and the wind does not always blow. The development of a cost-efficient European hydrogen infrastructure should be promoted with incentives for the development of cross-border planning. (15 October)

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