Negotiators from the European Parliament and Member States agreed to increase the EU renewable energy target for 2030 to 32% with a possibility for upward revision in 2023. This is a significant improvement over the target of at least 27% the European Commission tabled in November 2016.
The Renewables Directive sets out concrete measures to underpin the delivery of the target. The Directive will provide rules on the design of support mechanisms aimed at providing investor certainty. Member States will be allowed to have technology-specific auctions and will have to provide at least five years visibility on public support, including the timing, volumes and budget for auctions. The Directive also includes an investment protection clause preventing retroactive policy changes from impacting existing renewable energy projects. Permitting procedures for new and repowered installations will be simplified with shorter deadlines for swifter build-out.