European Parliament votes in favour of Solar Rooftops

Jan Osenberg, Policy Advisor at SolarPower Europe: 

“The European Parliament’s support for the European Solar Rooftops Initiative, sends one clear signal: solar buildings are a key solution to lowering energy bills, ensuring energy security, and meeting our climate ambitions.

If the European Parliament lands its position in negotiations, the solar rooftop wave will kick-off as early as 2025.

We support the Parliament’s decision to focus on low-hanging fruits first. 

Public or non-residential buildings – like libraries, supermarkets, or warehouses – offer the majority of the EU’s rooftop space, and the highest returns for building owners. Equipping all newly constructed buildings with solar, and setting a timeline to retrofit existing ones, is a no-regret step for Europe’s energy security and green transition.

To deliver the European Parliament vision, EU countries need to step up efforts to incentivise people to become installers and strengthen their grid capacity.”

Notes

The European Parliament position supports the following timeline for setting a mandatory rooftop standard on buildings: 

• by the transposition of the Directive into national law, on all new public and new non-residential buildings;
• by 31 December 2026, on all existing public and non-residential buildings;
• by 31 December 2028, on all new residential buildings and roofed carparks;
• by 31 December 2032, on all buildings undergoing major renovation

Following this vote, trilogue negotiations between the European Council, European Commission and European Parliament will begin in the coming months. The European Council supports a less ambitious timeline than the Commission or Parliament.  They will decide over the final provisions in the law.

© European Union 2023 (download here)