Brussels, 14 May 2024
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends of renewables,
A warm welcome to you all.
Let me start by saying thank you for being here today. Many of you represent different parts of the renewables sector. Some of you are from consumer organisations and the NGO community. But all of you have been – and continue to be – front and centre of the renewables revolution.
The REPowerEU Plan was a bold step for the Commission and the EU. I believe it was a defining, watershed moment for Europe’s energy system. In the run-up to the anniversary, I have read already several articles on the Plan’s track record.
Most of them are about Europe’s gas energy security, how prepared we are to diversify away from Russian gas, how prepared we are for next winter. This is a very valid angle, as REPowerEU’s most visible objective is to phase-out Russian gas. And of course I can be proud of our positive gas security of supply performance.
But gas is not the whole story and should not be the main story. Because the cheapest, fastest, and safest way to reduce our reliance on Russian fossil fuels is to accelerate the deployment of renewables. And this is the core of our REPowerEU plan – because home-grown renewables are the ones that really help to secure our energy freedom.
Europe will win the REPowerEU challenge if it wins its renewables challenge, not just if it diversifies from one gas supplier to many others.
Today, as we mark two years of REPowerEU, we can be proud of what we have delivered together. Since the plan’s launch, we have seen an unprecedented increase in renewables with over 130 GW of new renewable energy deployed. If you calculate this into gas savings, it is some 24 bcm.
Last year, Europe generated more electricity from wind than from gas, as wind power grew by a record 55 TWh from 2022 levels. Results are even more telling when you look back to the start of the mandate.
Solar installation volumes soared from 16.8 GW in 2019 to 55.9 GW last year. The renewables increase was especially visible in the electricity sector.
Here the share of renewables in the electricity generation mix jumped from 30% in 2019 to 38% in 2022 and to more than 40% last year.
It would not have been possible without investments. And the total investments in renewables in 2023 in the EU were a whopping € 89 billion. In 2022 alone, 30% of energy storage markets was represented by the residential sector. 22.5 million heat pumps were installed in 2023.
Biogas and biomethane production are on the rise everywhere in Europe. Renewables, with their low cost, and storage, by reducing energy waste, have contributed to bringing electricity prices back to pre-war levels. Energy markets have stabilised.
We have halved our energy import bill – and I truly believe we will never again be vulnerable to energy blackmail by Russia. This is why we are meeting here today. Together, we need to tell this story loud and clear. Renewables are at the heart of REPowerEU and are Europe’s energy future.
However, there is a second reason why I wanted to meet with you. The REPowerEU Plan and the Fit for 55 regulatory framework have driven remarkable progress. Measures like the easing of permitting rules have unlocked anumber of renewable projects on the ground.
Yet, to achieve the ambitious climate targets and REPowerEU’s final goal by 2027, renewables deployment in the EU needs to accelerate further. We know that the preliminary National Energy and Climate Plans that we have at the moment show that we are falling short of the 42,5% target in 2030.
So we need to accelerate. And we need to do so at a time when pursuing the Green Deal and the clean energy transition is becoming controversial ahead of the European elections.
So our work is not over. This is not the time for a renewables fatigue. This is not the time to pause renewables deployment.
Yes, we need to combine our energy policy objectives with competitiveness considerations. But we have always done so, at least in the energy portfolio. We have moved from rules and target setting to a focus on implementation, with the Wind Power Package and the Grids Action Plan.
And we need to say loud and clear that Europe’s energy transition depends on how fast we can roll out renewables.
This is why, today, we are going one step further to provide Member States’ guidance on how to implement the EU renewables framework in the most effective way.
We have worked at record speed to implement some measures, including some announced under the Net-Zero Industry Act, and our Fit for 55 legislation.
With today’s guidance, we are sending an important new policy signal – one which will encourage Member States to include ambitious targets for renewables in their final National Energy and Climate Plans.
In the next days, we will launch the new 2024 call of proposals under the Renewables Energy Financing Mechanism, for around 53 million euros.
It’s a small sum but it’s higher than the previous call last year and has more host countries as well.
By the end of May, I will also launch the procurement process for selecting the service provider for the pilot project on a market mechanism for hydrogen.
This is a follow-up to what Parliament and Council agreed in the Decarbonised gas market package– and it’s one more step forward for our hydrogen agenda.
These are concrete ways to bring once again the spotlight on renewables.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me finish with one remark on what I believe is our communication challenge. We are not putting enough emphasis on the good news coming from the clean energy transition. We need new arguments and new ways to communicate on why the transition is important and beneficial for citizens and for our companies.
I want to give you an example. I believe citizens are not yet fully aware that our renewables legislation also empowers them as individuals and that there are new rights to create energy communities. There are rights to have more charging points for electric or hydrogen powered vehicles.
Consumers also have gained new rights for concluding contracts with different suppliers suited to their needs, to choose variable or fixed prices. They’re also protected against shock bills. They can’t have their electricity cut off.
And thanks to eco-design and labelling, household products are more energy efficient. This is also something we have to communicate on as it helps consumers save money, while reducing costs for manufacturers.
Dear friends,
This is the spirit and purpose of today’s meeting. All of you here are champions of the clean energy transition in Europe. And together, we can send the message that our fight for a greener, better, and more competitive energy system continues.
I hope to hear from you on how the REPowerEU plan is being implemented and on the state of play of renewables in Europe. Because your feedback can help us shape our discussions with Member States as they finalise the National Energy and Climate Plans.
I would like to also use your experience of what works and what is still to be done to provide also strategic advice to my successor. I want to hear for you on what we can still do to make sure renewables remain at the centre of the next Commission’s agenda.
Thank you!
Source – EU Commission