Top Stories
PV LEGAL: Some progress, but barriers remain
By Marie Latour, Senior National Policy Advisor
One year after the deadline for transposing the RES Directive, with which the EU aims to reach 20% of renewable energy sources (RES) by 2020, how well have Member States done in reducing bureaucratic barriers to the development of solar photovoltaic (PV) power? PV LEGAL, a two-and-a-half-year European initiative, answers this question in a new report looking at 12 key countries.
The results are decidedly mixed. Some countries have made definite improvements. For example, developing a residential system is much quicker in France, Greece, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal. Online registration systems, less stringent permitting requirements, and one-stop-shop systems have helped reduce the time required to process requests.
But elsewhere in Europe the picture is not as bright. In Spain, thanks to overly burdensome bureaucracy, it takes an incredible 89 weeks to develop a commercial rooftop system. Complying with these regulations and grid connection processes represents almost half the development cost of a project. The same is true in Bulgaria and in the United Kingdom.
Grid connection difficulties remain the greatest bottleneck to deploy easily photovoltaic systems. Lengthy procedures, unclear interpretation of rules or excessive costs are some of the main barriers encountered in most of the markets studied in the project.
The PV LEGAL project is finalising at the end of February but this is not the end of the story. In May 2012 a new project called “PV GRID” will begin a deep analysis of PV grid integration. It will continue the work started by PV LEGAL, and include more actors such as distribution system operators.
Download the final PV LEGAL report here.
Commissioner Oettinger to address EPIA AGM
By Reinhold Buttgereit, EPIA Secretary General
EPIA is pleased to announce that European Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger will be the keynote speaker at this year’s Annual General Meeting, to be held in Brussels on 22 March 2012. The AGM is a privileged occasion for EPIA members to get an overview of EPIA’s initiatives over the past year and, in this crucial period, to examine the strategic orientations of the association for the future. It will be preceded on 21 March 2012 by the EPIA Market Workshop; in addition to the traditional market approach developed over many years, this time a market segment approach will be introduced.
The Market Workshop will be followed by a Gala Dinner at Brussels’ unique and architecturally significant Belgian Comic Strip Center. The guest speaker at the dinner will be Rolf Linkohr, a Member of the European Parliament from 1979-2004 and former advisor to former European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.
EPIA members can register to these events by clicking here.
WEEE and PV
By Giorgia Concas, Policy Officer
After three years of negotiations, European policymakers recently agreed upon a recast of the EU Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. Better known as WEEE, the Directive was originally conceived to deal with the disposal of consumer goods such as TVs and washing machines. It will now also apply to photovoltaic (PV) panels, a change that represents an important challenge for Europe’s solar industry.
The legislation provides no transitional period for the inclusion of PV. This means that PV panel producers will now be obliged by law to ensure the collection and the recovery of end-of-life products. Producers may choose to fulfil their obligations either individually or by joining a collective scheme.
Fortunately the PV industry can build on the experience gained through the pan-European system for collection and recycling of end-of-life panels it put in place in 2007 – PV CYCLE. The fact that the Directive encourages the best use of existing schemes such as PV CYCLE under the new WEEE framework is a clear recognition of the expertise the industry has gained and the network it has implemented since 2007. But it will now be crucial to avoid an excessive variety of implementing measures at national level, which could jeopardise results achieved so far.
The PV industry calls on European policymakers to use the possibility foreseen in the Directive to set an individual collection target for PV panels. This would encourage separate collection of this product, whose composition and recycling techniques differ from those of other electrical and electronic equipment, such as TVs and radios. In order to reflect the very long lifetime of PV panels and the recent appearance of PV markets in Europe, an individual collection target for PV panels should be based on the quantities of end-of-life PV panels available: the PV industry would be ready to support the European Commission in establishing the methodology for a waste-generated approach. Instead, the basis identified by legislators for the future overall collection target – the average weight of equipment sold in the three preceding years – appears not to suit the lifecycle and the market of PV panels.
The PV industry is ready for the new WEEE. But policymakers need to realise the unique nature – and vital importance – of solar PV technology.
For the text of the recast WEEE directive, click here.
EPIA on social media
By Craig Winneker, Head of Political Communications
Don’t forget to visit EPIA on social media, with new and improved pages on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Connect EPIA’s social media sites to your own professional networks and help spread the message about the potential of PV and the need for regulatory frameworks that encourage mature market growth.
Our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/TheEPIA, keeps you notified of the latest news updates, videos, links to our publications and studies, and other useful information. Through it you can also reach other major sites in the PV and renewables arenas. If you visit us, we are sure you will “Like” us.
You can follow EPIA on Twitter, www.twitter.com/EPIABrussels, for updates and breaking news on our work in the PV sector.
Also, we are an active resource on LinkedIn, http://www.linkedin.com/groups/EPIA-European-Photovoltaic-Industry-Association-2434224, where you can make professional connections in the industry and beyond, and engage in discussions on key issues.
Finally, EPIA members can click here to see monthly social media monitoring reports, with detailed analysis of online activity related to PV. From forums to Facebook pages, find out what people are saying about the technology and the industry.
EPIA TV: PV Legal
EPIA TV presents full coverage of the PV LEGAL Final European Forum, held in Brussels on 8 February 2012. For more videos, visit www.youtube.com/theepia.
