22 September 2020
Response to Inception Impact Assessments Revision of the Directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and of the Directive on energy efficiency
The Electrification Alliance welcomes the initiative by the European Commission to review the Renewable Energy Directive and the Energy Efficiency Directive to allow a cost-efficient integration of renewables in all energy end uses, to increase demand-side flexibility and system efficiency. And the Alliance recommends the following actions for a successful revision of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Directives:
- Adopt an upwards revision of the EU’s 2030 renewable and energy efficiency targets to support the increased 2030 greenhouse gas emissions target, including an update of the sectoral target for the use of renewable energy in heating
- Prioritize direct electrification of all end-use sectors combined with energy demand reduction and the deployment of renewable electricity sources, as the most cost-effective way to decarbonise the EU
- Ensure that administrative procedures support the development of renewable energy projects to successfully meet the EU renewable energy target
- Enhance demand-side flexibility across all sectors to smartly manage an energy system with large shares of renewables and to reduce unnecessary grid investments
- Ensure the Primary Energy Factor supports increased system efficiency delivered by electrification in end-use sectors
- Create a Clean Energy Package Implementation Platform to promote best practices in Member States’ decarbonisation strategies and share technical guidance
- Renewable-based indirect electrification could play an important role to decarbonise “hard to abate” sectors such as heavy industry, aviation, and shipping, where direct electrification may be less cost effective
