EU Wants its Every Rooftop with Solar Panels

The President of the European Commission has declared a mandate for rooftop solar on commercial and public buildings by 2027.

May 19, 2022. By News Bureau

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, has declared a mandate for rooftop solar on commercial and public buildings by 2027, and residential structures by 2029. The EU's renewable energy objective has been boosted from 40% to 45%.

At a press briefing for the REPowerEU initiative, EC President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU is moving its "goal to become independent from Russian fossil resources as quickly as feasible" to "another level."

From 2027 to 2029, the commission proposes a solar rooftop requirement for commercial and public buildings, as well as new residential buildings.

“I know this is ambitious, but it is realistic, we can do it,” said von der Leyen, noting that investment in renewables is the bloc’s “biggest task.”

The commission also announced that its renewable energy target for 2030 will be increased from 40% to 45 percent. Faster renewable energy permits will be critical to meeting the greater objective, she said. It also wants member nations to designate "renewables go-to locations" where permits may be issued quickly.

"There, the permitting procedure is down to one year," von der Leyen added, a significant improvement over the existing average of six to nine years.

The policy also sets a target for solar in the European Union of 592 GWac (740 GWdc) by 2030. "This aim is greater than SolarPower Europe's business-as-usual predictions of 672 GWdc by the end of the decade," according to a statement made by the trade association.

According to reports, applications for renewable energy systems in go-to locations would receive decisions within 14 days. In such places, repowered installations would need to be approved within six to nine months. Systems with a generation capacity of less than 150 kW would be similarly affected.

Other recommendations include a 9% to 13% rise in the EU's energy efficiency objective for 2030.

“Today the European Commission recognises the immense potential of rooftop solar – as well as the need for a solar workforce to roll out both rooftop and utility solar across Europe,” said Dries Acke, policy director at SolarPower Europe. “We foresee up to 1.1 million solar jobs in Europe by 2030, and the EU Solar Skills Partnership will help deliver the workers on the ground.”

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