The Clean Industrial Deal includes measures to unite climate action and competitiveness under a single economic and industrial growth agenda. The Commission confirmed that the plan is set to support energy-intensive industries and clean tech manufacturing by driving renewables, electrification, grids, and storage.
“The Clean Industrial Deal brilliantly sets electrification as a key pillar for industrial competitiveness and decarbonisation, including a new 32% electrification target by 2030. We see that as a floor, not a ceiling. There are plenty of energy uses that are low-hanging fruit to electrify», Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe said.
Eurelectric: call for Electrification bank in the EU Clean Industrial Deal
„However, dedicated financial support for electrification needs to materialise. The new Industrial Decarbonisation Bank risks pitching electrification against gas-dependent solutions that look good on paper but miss the irrefutable benefits of electrification. Flexible, renewable-based, electrification can reduce day-ahead energy prices by 25% by 2030. Investment in electrification must be prioritised over short-term fossil-based solutions“, Hemetsberger underlined.
Integrate energy storage in the Grids Package
„Getting the upcoming Grids Package right is critical to the success of the competitiveness agenda. It should be a Grids and Storage Package. Battery storage is the absolute shortcut to lower, less-volatile energy prices. Where is Europe’s battery storage strategy?“, Hemetsberger said.
SolarPower Europe welcomes new EU Competitiveness Compass
„We’re glad to see that today’s publication provides a specific boost for European solar manufacturers. The intention to prefer EU-made products in public procurement should strengthen the Net-Zero Industry Act, but we urgently need to complement that with financing support for building and operating factories. We need to see EU products better rewarded in public procurement while staying clear of unnecessary barriers to solar deployment.
Right framing of the Affordable Energy Action Plan
The Affordable Energy Action Plan has the right framing, focus and sequence of actions points, starting with freeing electricity bills from unnecessary taxes and levies, and then making electricity structurally cheaper by boosting grids, flexibility and faster RES permitting. The plan is right, time to action. We do caution against plans to finance more LNG infrastructure, and any expectations that this would help reduce fossil fuel price volatility.
Battery regulation risks undermining PPAs
Under the Omnibus packages, aligning the scope and obligations between the CSRD and CSDDD is sensible as long as it doesn’t water down regulatory objectives. Simplification should not mean deregulation. We are pleased to see Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives maintain their central role under the CSDDD, which should be aligned under the Forced Labour Regulation (and other relevant due diligence legislation). Such initiatives will only become more important as routes-to-compliance“, Hemetsberger said.
Important commitment for a Citizen Energy Package
The Commission’s Action Plan on Affordable Energy, which makes up part of the CID, presents a set of welcomed actions that aim to decrease energy prices for citizens, business and communities across the EU, REScoop.eu (European federation of energy communities) declared. In particular, REScoop.eu would welcome the Action Plan’s commitment for a Citizen Energy Package to be published later this year to enhance the ability of local communities, citizens, municipalities, and companies to join forces through an energy community, and through other citizen-initiatives such as energy sharing.
EU Farming Strategy emphasizes the role of solar
The Citizen Energy Package would be particularly important, as most Member States have yet to implement enabling frameworks for energy communities required by existing EU legislation. Furthermore, the Action Plan proposes other actions that should also benefit energy communities, for instance on network charges, power purchase agreements (PPAs), permitting, boosting flexibility, and grids, just to name a few.
Integrating energy communities into sector coupling
Moving forward, it would be of utmost importance to create strong links and synergies between the Affordable Energy Action Plan and more concrete and targeted support under the Citizen Energy Package for social economy and local community-led approaches.
Simplication of regulations for energy communities
“Energy communities are social economic actors that make up a growing and innovative segment of Europe’s industry that will help deliver the energy transition. To succeed in reinvigorating Europe’s economy, the Clean Industrial Deal must be a social deal at heart; it must prioritise the simplification of regulations for local ownership of production, sharing and supply of renewable electricity and heat by energy communities, along with citizen-led approaches to renovations and energy savings“, Dirk Vansintjan, President of REScoop.eu, said. (hcn)
