2023-12-07 20:03:00
Entrance through the large door. The new Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereuchaired this Thursday its first Council on Competitiveness, Internal Market and Industry of the European Union with a agreement on the ‘Net Zero Emissions Regulation’ which aims to increase European production of clean technologiesLike the solar panels waves wind turbinessimplifying authorization granting procedures, prioritizing strategic projects and diversifying the supply of strategic technologies to the European Union.
The ultimate goal is to cover the 40% of community consumption with own manufacturing to face the “strong pressure” to which the european industry by subsidies in third countries, especially China, although the agreement has been much less ambitious than anticipated in this regard. “This regulation reinforces one of the main priorities of the spanish presidencyMay Europe win strategic autonomy and depend less on other countries to carry out this energy transition”, Hereu held in his first press conference in Brussels, in which he thanked the “work of the Spanish delegation” throughout this time to reach an agreement that has yet to be agreed with him Parliament and the Commission for its subsequent entry into force.
The Twenty-Seven are committed to diversify the supply of strategic technologies with public procurement that they do not focus only on the price of the offer, but also in the qualityincluding features social, environmental and innovative. Although the main point of the agreement is the possibility that Member States can establish criteria other than price in the renewable energy auctions; However, the ministers have limited that measure to a annual percentage of the 20% of the auctioned volume.
However, at the request of France an increase will be established progressive of that rate, as Hereu explained. “France has proposed incorporating into the final agreement a progressive increase of the ambition to establish criteria other than price in energy auctions. There will be a progressive increase and we have reached an agreement for this purpose. We will establish a period in which this percentage will increase, but now it remains at 20%,” said the minister.
The issue of ‘anti-China’ clauses has sparked some controversy in the European solar sectorwhich depends largely on the modules chinese photovoltaicsand which warns that the veto of Asians could endanger jobs on the continent, given that 90% of jobs in the sector are related to planning and installation, while manufacturing only represents a small part, according to Euractive.
Year and a half of permits
The Council also proposes “simplifying” the granting of permits for manufacturing projects of these technologies –now they have an average duration of between two and seven years, which is expected to be reduced from 9 months to a maximum of a year and a half— and “prioritize” strategic projects. These measures try to prevent “the inappropriate granting” of authorizations from creating a “additional obstacleand often detrimental, to the increase in manufacturing capacity” of technologies in cases such as batterieswhich also require a very large volume of investments in gigafactories to achieve “the anticipated economies of scale.”
On the other hand, ministers have increased the technologies considered strategic for the transition to a decarbonized economy from eight to ten. To those selected by the European Commission —solar and photovoltaic technologies, wind energy, batteries, heat pumps and geothermal energy, electrolyzers and fuel plates, biogas and biomethane, grid technologies and carbon capture and storage— nuclear fission and sustainable alternative fuels were added this Thursday.
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In addition, the list of net zero emissions technologies has been expanded not strategic to include biotechnological solutions for climate and energy, “other nuclear technologies and transformative industrial technologies for energy-intensive industries”, according to the community institution. Additionally, it includes an annex with a non-exhaustive list of products and components primarily used for the manufacturing of net zero emissions technologies.
More weight for SMEs
On this first visit to Brussels as the main representative of the Spanish industrial policyHereu wanted to underline the importance of small and medium businesses in this ‘clean reindustrialization’ and has highlighted the idea of ensuring that SMEs “can participate and benefit from green policies.” “We have to to integrate in the value chain of this new industry that SMEs are protagonists in the generation of this value chain”, said Hereu, a message that gives a sign of where the shots will go in this legislature.
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