13 April 2022
WindEurope response to the European Commission’s public consultation on accelerating renewables Permitting and PPAs
Wind energy will play the biggest role in providing clean and competitive power for the EU to become climate neutral in 2050. The current geopolitical situation is only accelerating this trend: the European Commission’s REPowerEU communication increases the wind energy installation target for 2030 by 30 GW. But slow and cumbersome permitting processes for renewable energy projects remain the key bottleneck to the EU’s Climate & Energy, and energy security goals.
In this response we outline recommendations for simplifying the permitting for new and repowered wind energy projects that the Commission should include in its upcoming EU Permitting Guidance. These touch upon the administrative approval processes, site selection, grid connection, legal challenges, and the Commission’s role in overseeing compliance.
We also spell out recommendations for removing remaining regulatory barriers for the uptake of renewable Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).
