The EU will introduce shorter permitting times for solar and renewable energy assets in the most recent addition to its REPowerEU scheme, agreed on by the European Council this week.
The EU installed 47% more solar in 2022 than last year and is on track to double its capacity by 2026 to an expected 484GW, according to a report by industry association SolarPower Europe.
A 600MW electricity transmission line between Italy and Tunisia has received €307 million (US$324 million) in funding as part of the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) financing programme aimed at developing energy infrastructure across the continent.
Solar PV capacity is expected to almost treble over the 2022-2027 period, growing by 1.5TW and will surpass coal as the largest source of power capacity worldwide, according to a report from the IEA.
The government of the Netherlands announced a €130/MWh (US$136) profit ceiling for solar and wind generation this week as part of the EU’s established ‘intramarginal levy’ scheme to curb excessive energy profits due to rising costs.
Europe needs to galvanise a competitive PV manufacturing ecosystem in the same vein as the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), according to the European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC).
Europe will benefit from a new research and innovation (R&I) project intended to advance the continent’s tandem solar PV cell manufacturing and production capabilities, focusing on tandem silicon-perovskite cells.
A coalition of 18 organisations has urged EU member states to require solar be installed on all new and renovated buildings, as well as existing non-residential buildings.
European solar PV manufacturers struggling with soaring electricity prices have flagged concerns that the continent is falling behind the US and India in terms of policy support for the sector.
