REPowerEU: The REPower plan to rapidly reduce dependence on fossil fuels from Russia and accelerate the ecological transition

The European Commission today presented the REPowerEU plan to respond to the stresses and disruptions in the global energy market caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Transforming Europe's energy system is urgent in two ways: it serves to end the EU's dependence on fossil fuels from Russia, which are used as an economic and political weapon and cost European taxpayers almost EUR 100 billion annually , and it contributes to tackling the climate crisis. By acting as a union, Europe can more quickly end its dependence on fossil fuels from Russia. 85% of Europeans believe that the EU should reduce its dependence on Russian gas and oil as soon as possible to support Ukraine. The actions of the REPowerEU plan can meet this target through energy savings, diversification of energy supplies and the accelerated development of renewable energy to replace fossil fuels in private households, industry and electricity generation.

The green transition will ensure greater economic growth and security in Europe and our partners and strengthen climate action. The Recovery and Resilience Facility (ARF) is at the heart of the REPowerEU plan and supports coordinated planning and financing of cross-border and national infrastructure as well as energy projects and reforms. The Commission is proposing targeted changes to the Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation to include dedicated REPowerEU chapters in Member States' existing recovery and resilience plans, in addition to the many relevant reforms and investments already included in the recovery and resilience plans. The country-specific recommendations in the 2022 European Semester cycle will feed into this process.

Energy savings are the fastest and most cost-effective way to address the current energy crisis and reduce energy costs. The Commission proposes to improve long-term energy efficiency measures, including increasing the binding energy efficiency target under the Fit for 55 package of the European Green Deal legislation from 9% to 13%. Energy savings will now help us prepare for the potential challenges of next winter. Against this background, the Commission today also published a Communication on Energy Savings, which sets out short-term behavioral changes that could reduce gas and oil demand by 5% and calls on Member States to launch specific communication campaigns for households and industry. Member States are also invited to use tax measures to promote energy savings, e.g. B. in the form of reduced VAT rates for energy-efficient heating systems, building insulation, devices and products. In addition, the Commission is presenting emergency measures in the event of severe supply disruptions and will issue guidelines on customer prioritization criteria and launch a coordinated EU plan to reduce demand.

The EU has been working with international partners for several months to diversify supplies, securing record LNG imports and higher pipeline gas deliveries. The newly created EU Energy Platform, supported by regional taskforces, will enable voluntary joint procurement of gas, LNG and hydrogen by pooling demand, optimizing the use of infrastructure and coordinating outreach to suppliers. As a next step, the Commission will consider developing a "joint procurement mechanism" - as demonstrated by the Joint Vaccine Purchase Program - which will negotiate and contract gas purchases on behalf of participating Member States. The Commission will also consider legislative measures to require Member States to diversify gas supplies over time. In addition, the platform will enable joint procurement of renewable hydrogen.

The EU's external energy engagement strategy adopted today will facilitate the diversification of energy supplies and the development of long-term partnerships with suppliers, including cooperation on hydrogen or other green technologies. In line with Global Gateway, the strategy prioritizes the EU's commitment to a global green and fair energy transition, increasing energy savings and energy efficiency to reduce price pressures, promoting the development of renewable energy and hydrogen and stepping up energy diplomacy. Important hydrogen corridors are being developed in the Mediterranean and the North Sea. In the face of the Russian attack, the EU will support Ukraine, Moldova, the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership countries and our most vulnerable partners. We will continue to work with Ukraine to ensure security of supply and a functioning energy sector, while paving the way for future trade in electricity and renewable hydrogen and rebuilding the energy system through the REPowerUkraine initiative.

A massive expansion and acceleration of the deployment of renewable energy in power generation, industry, buildings and transport will make us independent more quickly, drive ecological change and ensure price reductions over time. The Commission proposes to increase the 2030 headline target for renewable energy from 40% to 45% under the Fit for 55 package. Setting this more ambitious overall target sets the framework for other initiatives, including:

A dedicated EU solar strategy to double photovoltaic output by 2025 and install 600 GW by 2030.

An initiative to expand solar rooftop systems with the gradual introduction of a legal obligation to install solar panels on new public, commercial and residential buildings.
Doubling the pace of the introduction of heat pumps and measures to integrate geothermal and solar thermal energy into modernized district heating systems.

A Commission recommendation to address the problem of slow and complex approval processes for large renewable energy projects and a targeted amendment to the Renewable Energy Directive to recognize renewable energy as an area of ​​overriding public interest. Member States should set up specific “go-to” areas for renewable energy, ie areas with lower environmental risks and with shortened and simplified approval procedures. To quickly identify such "go-to" areas, the Commission is making available datasets on ecologically vulnerable areas as part of its digital mapping tool for geographical data related to energy, industry and infrastructure.

Setting a target to produce 10 million tonnes of hydrogen from renewable sources in the EU by 2030 and to import 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen to replace natural gas, coal and oil in hard-to-decarbonise industries and transport sectors. In order to expand the hydrogen market, the two legislative bodies would have to agree on higher sub-targets for certain sectors. In addition, the Commission is publishing two delegated acts on the definition and production of renewable hydrogen to ensure that production leads to net decarbonization. To accelerate hydrogen projects, an additional €200 million will be allocated to research and the Commission commits to complete the assessment of the first key projects of common European interest by the summer.

A biomethane action plan includes tools such as a new biomethane industrial alliance and financial incentives to increase production to 35 billion m³ by 2030, including under the common agricultural policy.

Replacing coal, oil and natural gas in industrial processes will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen safety and competitiveness. Energy savings, fuel substitution, electrification and increased use of renewable hydrogen, biogas and biomethane by industry could save up to 35 billion m³ of natural gas by 2030, in addition to the savings envisaged under the Fit for 55 proposals.

The Commission will introduce carbon differential contracts to promote the use of green hydrogen by industry and provide dedicated funding for REPowerEU under the Innovation Fund, using revenues from emissions trading to further reduce dependencies on Russian fossil fuels support. The Commission is also issuing guidelines for renewable energy and electricity procurement contracts and will provide a technical advisory facility to the European Investment Bank. To maintain or regain technological and industrial leadership and support the workforce in areas such as solar energy and hydrogen, the Commission proposes to establish an EU Solar Alliance and Comprehensive Skills Partnership. In addition, the Commission will intensify work on the supply of critical raw materials and prepare a legislative proposal on this.

In order to improve energy savings and efficiencies in the transport sector and accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles, the Commission will present a greening freight transport package to significantly increase energy efficiency in this sector and will consider a legislative initiative to increase the proportion of emission-free vehicles in public and commercial vehicle fleets of a certain size. The EU Communication on Energy Savings also contains numerous recommendations for cities, regions and national authorities that can effectively contribute to the substitution of fossil fuels in the transport sector.

Achieving the REPowerEU objectives requires an additional investment of EUR 210 billion by 2027. This is a down payment on our independence and security. Reducing fossil fuel imports from Russia can also result in savings of almost EUR 100 billion per year. These investments must be made by the private and public sectors, as well as at national, cross-border and EU levels.

To support REPowerEU, EUR 225 billion is already available in loans under the Recovery and Resilience Facility. The Commission today adopted legislation and guidelines for Member States on how they can modify and complement their recovery and resilience plans in the context of REPowerEU. In addition, the Commission proposes to increase the funding of the Recovery and Resilience Facility by EUR 20 billion in the form of grants; The funds are to be provided from the sale of certificates from the EU emissions trading system (ETS), which are currently held in the market stability reserve and are to be auctioned in such a way that there are no market disruptions. The ETS not only reduces emissions and fossil fuel use, but also provides the necessary funding to achieve energy independence.

Under the current MFF, decarbonization and ecological transition projects are already supported by cohesion policy with up to EUR 100 billion through investments in renewable energy, hydrogen and infrastructure. Voluntary transfers to the Recovery and Resilience Facility could provide an additional EUR 26.9 billion from the Cohesion Fund. A further €7.5 billion from the common agricultural policy will be made available through voluntary transfers to the Recovery and Resilience Facility. The Commission will double the available funding for the large-scale 2022 Innovation Fund call next autumn to around €3 billion.

The Trans-European Energy Networks (TEN-E) have contributed to creating a resilient and connected gas infrastructure in the EU. In order to complement the existing list of Projects of Common Interest (PCI) and fully compensate for the future loss of Russian gas imports, limited additional gas infrastructure is required, estimated at around EUR 10 billion. The substitution needs of the coming decade can be met without creating dependencies on fossil fuels, creating stranded assets or slowing down the achievement of our climate protection goals. Accelerating electricity-related projects of common interest will also be crucial to adapting the electricity grid to our future needs. The Connecting Europe Facility will support this and the Commission is today launching a new €800 million call for proposals; A further call will follow at the beginning of 2023.

On March 8, 2022, against the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Commission presented a draft plan to make Europe independent of Russian fossil fuels well before 2030. At the meeting of the European Council on 24/25. In March, EU leaders agreed on this goal and asked the Commission to present the detailed REPowerEU plan, which was adopted today. The recent gas supply disruptions to Bulgaria and Poland show that the lack of reliability of Russia's energy supply needs to be urgently addressed.

In response to Russian aggression against Ukraine's territorial integrity and increasingly brutal attacks on Ukrainian civilians and cities, the Commission has adopted five far-reaching and unprecedented sanctions packages. Coal imports are already subject to the sanctions regime and the Commission has put forward proposals for phasing out oil by the end of the year, which are currently being discussed by member states.

The European Green Deal is the EU's long-term growth plan to make Europe climate neutral by 2050. This target is enshrined in the European Climate Law, as is the legally binding commitment to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% compared to 1990 levels by 2030. The Commission presented its Fit for 55 legislative package in July 2021 to deliver on these objectives. Implementing the proposals would already reduce our gas consumption by 30% by 2030, with more than a third of these savings coming from achieving the EU's energy efficiency target.

On January 25, 2021, the European Council asked the Commission and the High Representative to develop a new external energy strategy. The strategy links energy security to the global clean energy transition through external energy policy and diplomacy, and responds to the energy crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the existential threat of climate change. The EU will continue to support the energy security and ecological transition of Ukraine, Moldova and partner countries in their immediate neighbourhood. The strategy recognizes that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has global implications for energy markets, particularly affecting developing partner countries. The EU will continue to promote safe, sustainable and affordable energy worldwide.

Solar glass – The forgotten component – ​​Image: Xpert.Digital / Juice Flair|Shutterstock.com

When we talk about the entire PV value chain, the heaviest component in terms of weight after the solar cells is consistently neglected: the solar glass. I am not aware of any publication that has so far described the problems with procuring large quantities of solar glass for the production of gigawatt-scale PV modules to realize the energy transition.

More about it here:

• Solar glass – the forgotten component – ​​the next bottleneck is inevitable