With its Nature Restoration Law the EU is planning new legislation to restore Europe’s natural ecosystems. The European Commission has proposed binding restoration targets for specific habitats and species. It aims to restore 30% of the EU’s degraded areas, and ultimately all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050. WindEurope emphatically supports this target. 30% nature restoration does not undermine the EU’s climate and energy targets. On the contrary: nature restoration and wind energy expansion go hand in hand.
Recent regulatory changes for wind energy development in Central European countries are promising: Hungary is simplifying repowering conditions. In Slovenia first steps to boost permitting will come into force in July. And recently amended legislation in Czechia aligns the position of wind energy development with other public interests and simplifies permitting processes. Governments in Central Europe must use the National Energy Climate Plans (NECPs) submission to translate these recent improvements into higher targets for wind energy.
The EU is debating a revised electricity market design. The European Commission has proposed a targeted reform to end the investment uncertainty caused by uncoordinated Government interventions in electricity markets.
On 17 May WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson opened the Energy Day of the CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) Sustainable Finance Summit in Prague and highlighted the wind energy potential in the region. The share of wind in the region’s electricity mix is below the 17% average for Europe. But there is a clear increase in political support and the number of new wind farms under development in different countries.
Ireland successfully held its first-ever offshore wind auction. Four projects with a combined capacity of 3 GW were awarded. The average price of the winning bids was €86/MWh, much lower than expected. The successful completion of the auction is a breakthrough for renewables in Ireland and critical to achieving the targets set in Ireland’s 2030 Climate Action Plan.
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