The EU will miss its 2030 renewable energy target unless members states raise their game, Brussels admitted, as Europe’s wind power lobby slammed 15 nations for not offering “to contribute their fair share”.
The European Commission said draft National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) submitted by member states suggest the bloc will fall short of its 32% renewables share ambition by up to 1.6 percentage points.
The draft NECPs submitted last year – which have to be turned into firm and final commitments by the end of 2019 under EU rules – are supposed to set out how each of the 28 member states, currently including the UK, will help meet that goal and other climate-related targets.
European wind industry body WindEurope said 15 nations are “not planning to contribute their fair share on renewables” under the Commission’s current verdict.
They are: Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia and the UK.
The states now have six months to “turn the Plans into the investment brochures they’re supposed to be. It’s a once in ten-year opportunity to send the right investment signals,” said WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson.
“The Commission’s recommendations highlight the areas where countries need to step up their game e.g. permitting, electrification, corporate PPAs, and the repowering of existing wind farms.”
Trade association Eurelectric also pointed out that "there is, in general, no measure proposed to address security of supply in a context of massive [renewables] deployment", and added: "As many as ten draft NECPs do not contain any plan on how to electrify transport."
An array of major corporations has already hit out at the lack of provision for corporate renewable PPAs shown in the draft NECPs.
Ireland – one of the nation's named – this week unveiled a hugely ambitious Climate Action Plan, calling for 70% renewables in its electricity mix by 2030, including up to 8.2GW of onshore wind.