Annexes to COM(2022)639 - 2022 Report on the Achievement of the 2020 Renewable Energy Targets

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dossier COM(2022)639 - 2022 Report on the Achievement of the 2020 Renewable Energy Targets.
document COM(2022)639 EN
date November 15, 2022
agreements that took effect in 2020; some of the participating Member States achieved their binding renewable energy target for 2020 as a result of statistical transfers. An overview of the statistical transfers and their quantities is presented below.


Figure 10. Statistical transfers that took effect in 2020. Source: Eurostat SHARES.

Member State – SellerMember State – BuyerAmount of RES statistics (GWh)
LithuaniaLuxembourg250
Estonia    Luxembourg400
DenmarkBelgium1800
FinlandBelgium (Flanders)250
Czech    RepublicSlovenia465
FinlandBelgium (Flanders)20
LithuaniaBelgium (Brussels Capital)152
FinlandBelgium (Flanders)1650
Estonia    Malta20
DenmarkNetherlands13650
Estonia    Ireland    2500
DenmarkIreland    1000


The other cooperation mechanisms remained largely unused, whereby the already established joint support schemes between Germany and Denmark and Sweden and Norway continued to deliver results 15 . Nevertheless, the cross-border collaboration in the form of joint projects is expected to be further incentivized following the implementation of the new instruments that are set up at EU level, notably the Renewable Energy Financing Mechanism 16 and the renewable energy window of the Connecting Europe Facility 17 .


4.4.Measures taken to achieve the 2020 national renewable targets 18

As set out under Article 27(b) Governance Regulation (EU) 2018/1999, Member States were required to provide specifically information on measures taken to achieve the 2020 national renewable energy targets, including on support scheme measures, guarantees of origin (GO) , and the simplification of administrative procedures . 


4.4.1.Support scheme measures

RES-E Sector

In the RES-E sector, different combinations of support schemes have been implemented in the Member States according to their reports in recent years. Among the support schemes used to support RES-E generation were feed-in premiums (FIP) 19 , often combined with auctioning systems, quota systems, tax incentives, net metering, subsidies, loans, and feed-in tariffs were also used to support RES-E generation. While the support schemes provided differ per Member State, almost all Member States have at least two support schemes that provide specific support to different technologies, plant sizes, and actors.

A general trend is the transition from administratively set feed-in tariffs (FIT) towards feed-in premium schemes that facilitate a higher market integration of renewables. Moreover, support is provided more often following competitive auctions. 19 Member States have implemented auctions for RES-E support until 2020. This trend continued also after 2020: Belgium (2021) and Romania (2022) launched auctions for wind and solar projects and 4 other Member States are also considering introducing auctions for RES-E support 20 .

In addition to FITs and FIPs, all Member States (except for Latvia) implemented complementary fiscal measures, including subsidies, loans, and tax credits/exemptions, to encourage the deployment of RES technologies. These fiscal measures ranged from investment subsidies to loan programs for RE power plants. Most fiscal measures focused on a specific technology, e.g. Germany’s support financing programme for offshore wind farms which started already in 2011, or the grant scheme of the installation of net-metering PV systems in residential buildings in Cyprus.

Moreover, in 2020, Member States supported the deployment of smaller-scale RES-E systems in homes and communities. For instance, in this year, Belgium, Denmark, Lithuania, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Latvia had net metering support schemes for prosumers in place.

Several Member States introduced new RES-E support schemes in 2020: For example, Portugal conducted an auction for PV and PV plus storage to allocate a feed-in-premium and investment grants. Malta completed a competitive bidding scheme for feed-in-tariffs for RES installations between 400kWp and less than 1 000kWp. Italy has put in place a legal framework for energy communities and collective self-consumers that allows end users/producers to join together to share locally generated electricity.

RES-T Sector

In the RES-T sector, the most noticeable trend in 2020 is the growing implementation of fiscal support schemes that target the uptake of electric or plug-in vehicles directly, e.g. through tax exemptions, direct subsidies or bonuses to the purchase of electric vehicles, or support the development of charging infrastructure.

In 2020, Greece, the Netherlands, Spain and Hungary introduced support schemes that promote e-mobility, primarily by offering subsidies to the purchase of electric vehicles. Spain implemented a support programme called MOVES II which includes support to encourage the purchase of electric vehicles and the installation of charging infrastructures. The SPP subsidy scheme introduced in the Netherlands provides subsidy options for consumers that want to buy fully electric cars for private use. Hungary launched a tendering system for electric vehicles in which individuals and companies can apply for different levels of support for the purchase of an electric vehicle. Greece introduced a law that provides tax incentives to promote the purchase of electric vehicles.

Besides the increasing support to electric vehicles and sustainable mobility, the predominant support scheme for RES-T in the EU continues to be a quota obligation for renewable fuels. In 2020 all countries in the EU use an obligation scheme, predominantly a quota, as the main support scheme to increase the share of RES-T. While the quota schemes differ in detail, they all require fuel suppliers to supply a certain proportion of renewable fuels or to use renewable fuels to reduce the average greenhouse gas emission intensity of transport fuels. The required shares are generally increasing year by year, and often targeted a 10% share by 2020.

RES-H&C Sector

Overall, fewer support schemes have been implemented in the RES-H&C sector than in the RES-E sector. Member State support is primarily focused on investment support, either through subsidies or loans. In 2020, 22 Member States provided investment support in the form of subsidies, 12 Member States used (in addition or instead of subsidies) loans to support the deployment of RES-H&C technologies.

The existing support instruments generally apply to a wide range of technologies, but most support goes to heat production from biomass. Other commonly supported technologies include geothermal, aerothermal, and hydrothermal heat pumps, as well as solar thermal systems. In addition to promoting the adoption of RES-H&C technologies, Member States’ support schemes also focus on energy conservation and energy efficiency measures.

In 2020, some Member States, including Hungary, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland and some Austrian regions, have introduced new RES-H&C support schemes, focusing primarily on improving the energy efficiency of homes and installing heat pumps.


4.4.2.Guarantees of Origin

As specified by the Recast of the Renewable Energy Directive (Directive (EU) 2018/2001) (RED II), Guarantees of Origin (GOs) have the purpose of demonstrating to final consumers the share or quantity of energy from renewable sources in a determined supplier’s energy mix and in the energy supplied to consumers under contracts. Member States shall ensure that the origin of energy from renewable sources can be guaranteed as such within the meaning of the Directive, in accordance with objective, transparent and non-discriminatory criteria.

Overall, the number of GOs issued have been steadily increasing since 2011 21 . Some Member States presented a faster growth in GOs, for example, Spain went from a 3%-share of total GOs issued in EU-27 in 2011 to 17% in 2020. Austria, evolved from 2% in 2011 to 9% in 2020, and France moved from 7% to 12% in 2020.


Figure 11. Annual issuing of GO certificates per country. Source: AIB Statistics 22 .


Article 19 of RED II prescribes furthermore that Member States shall ensure that when a producer receives financial support from a support scheme, the market value of the guarantee of origin for the same production is taken into account appropriately in the relevant support scheme. Therefore, Member States have different ways to account for supported electricity and, in general, different ways to set their GO systems.

Based on the technical assistance report 23 , some Member States issue GOs also to supported renewable energy. This is the case for Greece, Finland, the Netherlands, Czechia, Estonia, Cyprus, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania. For instance, in Cyprus “issuing of GOs to RES producers is independent of any support received, e.g. investment support or feed in tariff premium. Revenues from GOs will thus be an additional benefit to producers. Producers have to get approval from RES Fund for trading GOs”.

A second approach is not to issue GOs to supported electricity, or to issue GOs but cancelling them right away. Belgium, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Malta, Austria, and Slovenia. In Austria for example, GOs are issued for supported and non-supported renewable energy, but only the GOs from non-supported renewable energy plants can be traded internationally, whereas supported GO must be used for Austrian disclosure purposes 24 .

Third, Member States can opt for issuing GOs to supported renewable energy but these GOs are centrally auctioned to compensate for the support costs. In this category we find Italy, Luxembourg, France, Portugal, Croatia, Slovakia, and Hungary. For example, in Italy, GOs for supported renewable energy have been auctioned since 2013. The revenues accrued from the auctions are used to compensate the cost of the supported renewable energy.


4.4.3.Simplification of administrative procedures

RED II established requirements for the Member States to streamline and simplify administrative procedures. Although RED II had to be transposed only by 30 June 2021, some Member States already had a number of such simplification measures in place in 2020 or earlier.

According to their reporting, 10 Member States have set up some sort of one-stop-shop approach or national contact point. For example in Finland, the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centre) of South Ostrobothnia has been designated as the contact point for the permit-granting process for the whole territory in 2020. The contact points shall, upon request by the applicant, guide through and facilitate the entire administrative permit application and granting process. The applicant shall not be required to contact more than one contact point for the entire process. The permit-granting process shall cover the relevant administrative permits to build, repower and operate plants for the production of energy from renewable sources and assets necessary for their connection to the grid 25 .

In a few cases the lack of reply of the administration by a deadline leads to automatic approval of permits. For instance, the Netherlands’ have put rules in place for permits for physical aspects stating that “the deadline for the decision-making process under the standard procedure is 8 weeks, which may be extended once by further 6 weeks at most. Missed deadline will automatically result in issue of a permit (under the principle of lex silencio positivo)” 26 .

Some Member States have in place specific renewable energy spatial planning measures, such as maps indicating areas where RES could be developed. Such spatial planning can help reduce opposition from local communities and civil society organisations and address the issue of land scarcity. For instance, Spain elaborated two maps for wind and solar power, which classifies land into 5 environmental sensitivity classes for each type of project analysed (maximum, very high, high, moderate and low). However, the maps are only informative and do not replace the necessary administrative steps, such as the need for an Environmental Impact Assessment 27 .

The situation regarding online application procedures and digitalisation of documents is mixed across the EU. While a few Member States already offer reliable and broad online procedures, most Member States only started to introduce more digital tools to ease the process.

Most Member States have implemented some sort of simplification for small-scale projects, such as solar PV installed in rooftops to facilitate self-consumption and energy communities. In addition, 15 Member States adopted a simplified notification procedure for grid connections of small-scale installations.


4.5.Best practice examples

Looking at the successful Member States, a few lessons can be drawn for the coming decade:

·A stable political context, with predictability of support schemes, auction schedules and available budget, provides stakeholders with investment predictability.

·Putting a price on carbon and pollution in addition to the EU ETS is also key to allow renewables to compete on an equal footing. Sweden as the country with by far the highest RES share in transport with almost 32% introduced a carbon tax already back in 1991. Also Lithuania levies a general tax on environmental pollution with an exemption for the use of biogas, solid and liquid biomass for heating uses. This, together with other support measures, e.g. for biogas, have led to a high share of renewables in the heating and cooling sector (50.4% in 2020).

·Swift permitting procedures, including those set out in RED II and the REPowerEU proposal to amend RED , are essential to speed up the deployment of renewables to the levels needed to achieve the revised 2030 target and hence reduce dependence from Russian fossil fuels. Single contact points for project promoters are one important element to facilitate and expedite administrative procedures 28 . For instance, in the Netherlands key permits can be bundled together following a one-stop-shop approach called “All-in-one Permit for Physical Aspects” 29 . The one-stop shop is through an online platform and there is only one responsible authority. On the other side, as recommended by the European Commission in the REPowerEU plan, Member States should designate dedicated “go-to-areas” for RES with shortened and simplified permitting processes 30 . Some Member States have in place similar measures, such as maps indicating areas where RES could be developed, but with limited effect as they are not linked to a dedicated regulatory framework leading to faster permit granting. For instance, the Spanish national government published two maps for wind and solar power, which show the territory classified into five environmental sensitivity classes for each type of project analysed (maximum, very high, high, moderate and low). More examples of good practices in this area can be found in the Commission guidance on speeding up permit-granting procedures for renewable energy projects.

·Increasing public acceptance of energy policies and projects are key to ensure a successful and sustained energy transition. This includes early involvement of citizens and possibly also financial incentives such as those e.g. created in Denmark 31 . The above-mentioned guidance provides further examples.

·The use of waste-based biofuels 32 can contribute in a sustainable way towards to the decarbonisation of transport, in particular in modes that are difficult to electrify, together with Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin. RED II sets a 3.5% target for the share of advanced biofuels in 2030. Since 2016, the EU consumption has more than doubled to 1 224 ktoe in 2020. The lead Member States in this transition is Sweden with 3.6% share of Annex IX A, followed by Estonia, Finland, Italy, and The Netherlands, which were all above 1% in 2020. 

·While a substantial increase in deployment of renewables usually takes time, dedicated policy actions can yield quick results. For example, in 2020, Ireland only had one community-owned wind farm. Since then, it has taken energy community focused actions driven by the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme and the Community Enabling Framework, resulting in the successful application of 17 new energy community projects which are benefiting from end-to-end support (financial support and capacity building services) including to develop and operate the project. Actions include a community-dedicated auction for operational support, the set-up of an energy community fund, and a dedicated annual grid connection process.


5.Conclusion

By achieving the 2020 targets at EU-level and for all but one Member State, the RED I framework proved to be successful in delivering the envisaged increase in the consumption of energy from renewable energy sources. However, it is clear that, in order to achieve the new REPowerEU target of 45% proposed by the Commission, a steep increase in the deployment of renewable energy will be required - almost a tripling of the average annual increase of 0.8 percentage points over the last decade.

Urgent and full transposition of the 2018 Renewable Energy Directive RED II is key for the success of the energy transition since it lays the foundation of a wider rollout of RES. The Commission is currently checking the transposition and has launched infringement procedures against all Member States, which are at different stages. Moreover, adoption and implementation of the revision of RED II - and its accompanying sectoral measures - will be key for target achievement in 2030. The Commission’s proposal of 18 May 2022 aims at removing significant barriers to the successful deployment of RES by simplifying and shortening permit-granting procedures. The Commission therefore calls on the European Parliament and the Council to adopt the proposal by the end of 2022 so it can enter into force as soon as possible. Moreover, Member States should include in their NECP update drafts, foreseen for 2023 national contributions in line with the 45% EU-wide target proposed by the Commission.

It is still too early to make forecasts as regards the potential 2030 target achievement for the EU as a whole or for individual Member States. First estimates suggest that in 2021, the EU-wide renewable energy share only increased slightly (22.2-22.4%), indicating that the growth in renewable energy consumption was approximately at the same level as the growth in final energy consumption linked with the economic recovery when COVID measures were eased or lifted 33 .

Overall, some positive developments could be observed in several sectors recently, indicating that the deployment of renewable energies is progressing. In the electricity sector, early indications suggest that 2022 will be a record year for the European solar PV market with annual deployment growth in the largest EU Member State markets between 17-26% 34 . In the transport sector, the latest quarterly report shows a 53% year-on-year growth in battery electric vehicles 35 . In the buildings sector, the latest market reports show for 2021 a rapid jump in the sales of air-to-air heat pumps at European level, increasing by 34% 36 . In Finland, 75,000 heat pumps were sold during the first six months of 2022, an increase by 80 % compared with the same period last year 37 . In the industry sector, 2021 saw a record year for corporate renewable power purchase agreements (PPAs) with around 6.7 GW of new contracts signed 38 .

Several Member States have already made ambitious 2030 pledges, such as for an 80% RES-electricity share in Germany and even 100% in Austria and Estonia. Portugal brought its 80% RES-electricity target forward by four years to already 2026. Moreover, the Netherlands almost doubled their 2030 offshore target 11.5 GW to 21 GW.

(1)

COM(2022) 547 final.

(2)

COM(2019) 640 final.

(3)

Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, OJ L 328, 21.12.2018, p. 82.

(4)

COM(2021) 557 final.

(5)

COM(2022) 230 final.

(6)

COM(2022) 222 final.

(7)

Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, OJL 140, 5.6.2009. p. 16.

(8)

Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action, OJ L 328, 21.12.2018, p. 1.

(9)

A main contributor is the following technical assistance report “Assessment of Member States’ reports for the year 2020” [DOI 10.2833/12592] by Guidehouse Germany GmbH, published on 7 October 2022. The study is contracted by the European Commission.

(10)

Since the Delegated Act establishing the methodology to calculated renewable cooling was adopted on 14 December 2021, the renewable heating and cooling shares for 2020 do not yet include contribution from renewable cooling.

(11)

  https://www.eurobserv-er.org/category/all-annual-overview-barometers/ .

(12)

Klessmann, C., Sach, T., Grigiene, M., et al., Technical assistance in realisation of the 5th report on progress of renewable energy in the EU final update report. Task 1 & 2, Publications Office of the European Union, 2021 https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2833/559777 .

(13)

 EIA, Covid-19 impact on electricity report, 2021, Covid-19 impact on electricity – Analysis - IEA . https://www.iea.org/reports/covid-19-impact-on-electricity

(14)

 A study on the cooperation mechanism and their implementation can be found at: https://energy.ec.europa.eu/cooperation-between-eu-countries-under-res-directive-0_en

(15)

For 2020, the joint support schemes resulted in statistical transfers of 50.84 GWh from Denmark to Germany and of 2644 GWh from Sweden to Norway.

(16)

  https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/renewable-energy/financing/eu-renewable-energy-financing-mechanism_en .

(17)

  https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/renewable-energy/financing/financing-cross-border-cooperation_en .

(18)

Based on the “Assessment of Member States’ reports for the year 2020”, which included submitted Member State reports as well as reports from the previous project “Technical assistance in realisation of the 5th report on progress of renewable energy in the EU”, European Commission, Directorate-General for Energy, Horváth, G., Schöniger, F., Zubel, K. et al., Technical assistance in realisation of the 5th report on progress of renewable energy in the EU : task 1-2 : final report, Publications Office, 2020, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2833/325152 .

(19)

 In a FIP, renewable energy is sold on the electricity spot market and producers receive a payment on top of the market price (source: Feed-in Premiums (FIP) - energypedia ). While under a fixed FIP the received premium is independent from the market price and thus remains constant, sliding FIP schemes pay out varying premiums depending on the development of the market price, calculated based on the difference between market prices and a reference electricity price (source: Feed-in Premiums (FIP) - energypedia ). If the sliding FIP is allocated through an auction, projects bid on a total remuneration level (€c/kWh) and the premium is determined ex-post, based on the reference electricity prices (source: FIP, fixed or sliding - AURES II (aures2project.eu) . A Contract for Difference (DfDs) is a special case of a sliding FIP, in which both positive and negative deviations from a fixed reference price are paid out. It entitles the beneficiary to a payment equal to the difference between a fixed ‘strike’ price and a reference price – such as a market price, per unit of output (COM (2022/C 80/01); source: What is a contract for difference? ( next-kraftwerke.com )).

(20)

  https://taiyangnews.info/tenders/romanias-950-mw-renewables-tender/ .

(21)

Early adopters in 2011 were Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

(22)

 Original data source, AIB statistics https://www.aib-net.org/facts/market-information/statistics . Collected and analysed by Guidehouse.

(23)

Technical assistance report “Assessment of Member States’ reports for the year 2020” [DOI 10.2833/12592] by Guidehouse Germany GmbH, published on 7 October 2022. The study is contracted by the European Commission.

(24)

  https://www.aib-net.org/facts/national-datasheets-gos-and-disclosure .  

(25)

  https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/alkup/2019/20190126 .  

(26)

  https://www.eclareon.com/de/projects/res-simplify .

(27)

  https://www.eclareon.com/en/projects/res-simplify .

(28)

Under RED II, this has become an obligation for all Member States.

(29)

  https://www.eclareon.com/en/projects/res-simplify .

(30)

  https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_22_3131 .

(31)

 The scheme comprises a compensation scheme for citizens whose properties’ value has decreased due to the installation of a wind farm; a community benefit scheme to promote local nature restoration projects or the installation of renewable energy sources in public buildings; and the possibility of co-ownership, which allows local citizens to purchase shares from wind energy project, see http://aures2project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/AURES_II_case_study_Denmark.pdf .

(32)

Feedstock included in Annex IX of the Renewable Energy Directive.

(33)

 Estimations which are not validated by the Commission can be found in EEA Report No 10/2022 ( https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/trends-and-projections-in-europe-2022 ) and Eurobserver Press Release ‘2021 RES shares estimates’ ( https://www.eurobserv-er.org/download-press-releases/ ) . 

(34)

  Global Market Outlook For Solar Power 2022-2026 - SolarPower Europe .

(35)

  quarterly_report_on_european_electricity_markets_q1_2022.pdf (europa.eu) .

(36)

  2021_heat_pump_market_data_launch.pdf (ehpa.org) .

(37)

https://www.sulpu.fi/record-high-sales-growth-of-80-recorded-for-heat-pumps-in-the-first-six-months-of-the-year-in-finland/ .

(38)

(SWD (2022) 149 final).