What a new European Commission means for solar

There are a few Commissioners that will be important for the solar sector in particular. The first is Commissioner-designate for Energy and Housing, Dan Jørgensen. During his hearing, Mr. Jørgensen solidified his position that renewables are the clear way forward for a climate responsible and competitive Europe, which offers our citizens affordable energy prices.  

In the first 100 days of the new Commission, they will present a plan to accelerate independence from Russian fossil fuels. To achieve this, we have the short-term solutions named by Jørgensen: renewables and grids, and they need to be delivered ‘on steroids’. This will be underpinned by system flexibility, which the Commissioner-designate rightly says is ‘about bringing down [energy] prices’.

Another important player for our sector is the proposed incoming EU Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, Stéphane Séjourné. We wholeheartedly welcome the Commissioner-designate’s message that solar manufacturing in Europe is of strategic importance. This is an important clarification in the wake of the Draghi report and confirms that EU leadership agrees with us – it is important not to give up on strengthening the EU solar supply chain.

Together with Séjourné and Jørgensen, EU Executive Vice-President for the Clean, Just, and Competitive Transition, Teresa Ribera, will work on the Clean Industrial Deal, to lower energy prices and drive competitiveness. Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs), the EU tool to use member state funding to support industry projects, will be reinvigorated under the CID. Sejourne and Ribera’s hearings committed to expanding the use of IPCEIs, and making them easier to use. Ribera also promised to look at how State Aid rules can be adjusted to support EU competitiveness – important for our sector where running costs make it difficult to scale up manufacturing.

Listen to the latest episode of Shine On Policycast to hear more about the different hearings and what it means for solar in Europe.

In addition to the commotion around the new Commissioners, SolarPower Europe has been active beyond Brussels this month with some key events. On 24-26 October, we held our biggest ever RE-Source event in Amsterdam with over 1400 attendees including 350+ energy buyers and over 400 pre-scheduled B2B matchmaking meetings.

On 4-6 November, members of the team headed to Madrid for the AgriVoltaics Forum 2024. During the event we launched our new Agrisolar Handbook, identifying ten agrisolar archetypes and case examples, of how farmers and landowners can benefit from agrisolar projects on their farms.

The AgriVoltaics event, and this paper, are key steps in SolarPower Europe’s efforts to bring together two critical industries to embrace our shared synergies, working together for a more sustainable future. 

Wrapping up the month, along with Global Affairs Director Máté Heisz, I headed to Baku for COP29. I’m proud to see that the presence of a joint renewables voice at COP grows stronger every year. This year, the Global Solar Council led celebrations for reaching the global 2 TW solar mark. Along with many great meetings, it was a pleasure to join a number of events to discuss how to accelerate solar deployment across the world, how to secure adequate financing, how to ensure citizens are on board, and much more.

We look forward to the next knowledge sharing and networking opportunity at Sustainable Solar Europe 2024 on 12 December in Brussels – the must-attend event for a 360-degree perspective on solar sustainability, where we will launch our new Sustainable Solar report. Hope to see you there!