Wind and solar energy deployment in the European Union is not proceeding fast enough to meet global climate goals due to a slow permitting process, a report by independent climate think tank Ember showed on Wednesday.
In order to reach the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the EU will need an additional 76 gigawatts of the renewable sources by 2026, though Ember forecasts show only an additional 38 GW will be deployed over the next four years.
Finland, Croatia, Lithuania and Sweden are the only countries currently expected to achieve sufficiently high annual wind capacity increases to align with the 1.5 C goal, Ember said."Europe no longer lacks renewables ambition, but it is now facing an implementation gap. Higher targets have not yet translated into accelerated deployment on the ground," Ember analyst Harriet Fox said.
The 27-country bloc is trying to diversify energy sources as gas deliveries from Russia slow, and has put together a contingency plan to try and limit consumption this winter.Wind supply has grown slower than solar capacity, adding an average of 10 GW per year since 2018, and will only reach 54% of the growth required in 2026, Ember said.
Delays in wind power weigh more on the electricity generation mix than delays to solar due to its higher capacity factor, which means each gigawatt of wind translates to more electricity generation than solar. One of the main reasons for the delay is the slow permitting progress, Ember said, with all of the sampled countries taking more than two years to do spatial planning, get construction permits, perform environmental tests and connect to the grid.EU legislation states that the permit granting process should not exceed two years for member states.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Lightning Totally Destroys Giant Wind Turbine - Videos from The Weather ChannelLightning struck a wind turbine Friday in Texas causing it to explode into flames. - Videos from The Weather Channel | weather.com
Read more »
Wind gusts and Golden Valley Electric Association power outagesGVEA crews continue to restore power as quickly as possible to all members who have lost power from the wind storm.
Read more »
Gavin Newsom hopes California can become epicenter of wind energyCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Friday a new set of plans to achieve his state’s goal of reducing climate change by achieving carbon neutrality by 2045, including asking the California Energy Commission to plan to create at least 20 gigawatts of annual energy from offshore wind in 2045.
Read more »
One barrier to electric cars: Slow fleet turnoverNew research shows why strong sales growth is not enough to reach climate targets.
Read more »
Energy and commodity prices will stay elevated amid the energy transition, says Invesco's investment chief for value stocksOPINION: What does the shift of attention away from renewable energy to fossil fuel mean for companies and investors? The chief investment officer for U.S. value for Invesco weighs in.
Read more »
The Heat Just Goes On and On and...With Europe under a 'heat apocalypse' warning, the latest monthly climate climate analyses are out. Can you guess what they say?
Read more »