EC fairly content with NECPs, but the devil is in the detail

If the member states stick to their National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs), the EU could surpass the bloc’s 2030 target of reaching at least 32% share of renewables in final energy consumption, the European Commission (EC) said in its first assessment of 2021-2030 NECPs.

As calculated from the final NECPs that the EU members presented to the EC, the renewables share would range between 33.1% and 33.7% in 2030.

The cumulative impact of targets set for renewables, energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emission reductions, the internal EU energy market, and research and innovation goals, puts the EU on track to also surpass the current emission reduction target of 40% by 2030.

However, on Wednesday the EC upped the ante saying it would raise the emission reduction target to at least 55% compared to 1990 levels, which would require a renewables share of 38-40% by the end of the decade, according to the EU executive.

Compared to draft NECPs, which the EC found lacking in ambition, the final crop marks significant improvement in the renewable energy area, but there is still room for progress on how to implement the measures.

The EC said the NECPs failed to identify the potential of offshore renewables and then pointed to poorly developed measures for promoting the use of waste in heating and cooling, citizen prosumership and electrification of transport. Additionally, EU countries should do more to increase the predictability of planned tender for renewables, streamline the permitting process and support power purchase agreements (PPAs).

In the energy efficiency area, member states’ climate plan failed to meet the EU target of reducing energy consumption by at least 32.5%, falling short of 2.8 to 3.1 percentage points, the EC noted.

The Commission will present detailed assessment of each NECP in October.

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