EU energy ministers have agreed to extend the validity of three emergency regulations, including those to speed up the deployment of renewable energy.
Ministers have agreed to extend Regulation (EU) 2022/2577 until June 30, 2025, the EU Council said in a statement. In response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the EU Council implemented this regulation on December 30, 2022, for an initial period of 18 months.
This initiative aims to reduce the EU's dependence on Russian fossil fuels, respond to the energy crisis, and advance the EU's climate goals by accelerating the licensing process and deployment of renewable energy projects.
This regulation was introduced last year in response to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine
Areas covered by the regulations include allowing for a three-month period to install solar modules on rooftops.
If the relevant department does not respond within one month after the application is submitted, it will be deemed to have been approved for installation of solar installations with a power of less than 50kW, and solar installations of this size do not require an environmental impact assessment.
In addition to accelerating the deployment of renewable energy, other provisions include reducing high energy prices and improving gas supply security, as well as protecting EU citizens and the economy from excessive gas prices.
Teresa Ribera, Spain's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenges, said: "Extending the three emergency measures allows us to ensure the stability of the energy market, mitigate the impact of the crisis and protect EU citizens from excessively high energy prices. "
The EU has other plans to speed up the energy transition. In November, the European Commission released an action plan to accelerate grid rollout and improve grid efficiency.
The European Commission stated in the plan that in many countries, renewable energy power generation projects need to face a long wait in order to obtain grid connection rights. Currently, the waiting time for grid permits is 4-10 years, and the waiting time for high-voltage projects is 8-10 years.