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					</table><p>The European Investment Bank (<a href="https://www.eib.org/en/index.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EIB</a>) Group has approved raising the funding volume for clean energy projects developed under the European Union’s (EU) REPowerEU plan and Green Deal Industrial Plan by 50% to €45 billion (~$50.28 billion).</p>
<p>The added financing is expected to support the EU’s clean energy targets and manufacturing capacity for strategic net zero technologies and products. It would also support the extraction, processing, and recycling of critical raw materials.</p>
<p>The funding represents a 50% increase over the €30 billion (~$33.51 billion) package announced under the REPowerEU last year.</p>
<p>The additional funding will be deployed by 2027 and is expected to help mobilize over €150 billion (~$167.57 billion) investments in the clean energy sectors.</p>
<p>The sectors expected to benefit from the funding include solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, onshore and offshore wind, battery storage, heat pumps, geothermal, electrolyzers, fuel cells, sustainable biogas, carbon capture and storage, and grid technologies.</p>
<p>The scope of eligible projects is expanded to align the EIB’s <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/eu-to-expedite-renewable-expansion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">REPowerEU</a> package with the EU Commission’s <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/eu-e250-billion-green-industrial-plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Green Deal Industrial Plan</a>.</p>
<p>In October last year, company heads of 13 leading European solar organizations had <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/companies-urge-eu-boost-investment-solar-manufacturing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">urged</a> the European Commission to call for action to boost investment in the continent’s solar photovoltaic industrial base and reinforce its solar deployment and energy security ambitions.</p>
<p>The bank also approved an additional €10 billion (~$11.17 billion) in loans for wind and solar projects in Spain and Austria, grid upgrades in Italy, and an electric vehicle battery manufacturing gigafactory in France.</p>
<p>EIB President Werner Hoyer said, “We are deploying the full range of our available financial firepower to support Europe’s industrial competitiveness, manufacturing, and the rollout of critical technologies that will lead us to a swift and just transition to net zero.”</p>
<p>The EIB Board also announced raising the minimum target for its share of annual lending towards climate action and environmental sustainability from 50% to 52% between 2025 and 2027, as it already has achieved its target of 50% in 2022.</p>
<p>Recently, EIB and Spain-based independent power producer Iberdrola <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/iberdrola-1-billion-eib-build-22-renewable-projects" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> a loan agreement worth €1 billion (~$1.07 billion) to build 22 renewable energy projects with an installed capacity of 2.2 GW.</p>
<p>In March this year, the European Parliament and the Council provisionally <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/european-renewable-share-to-42-5-by-2030" target="_blank" rel="noopener">agreed</a> to raise the European Union’s binding renewable target to a minimum of 42.5% by 2030, up from 32%.</p>


EIB to Fund an Additional $50 Billion for Clean Energy Manufacturing in EU


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					</table><p>The <a href="https://commission.europa.eu/index_en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">European Commission</a> has approved the inaugural cross-border tender to promote renewable energy-related collaboration among member states to expedite the achievement of clean energy targets.</p>
<p>The tender is being carried out as part of the renewable energy financing mechanism and is a result of Luxembourg and Finland&#8217;s pledge to collaborate under this initiative.</p>
<p>Beginning April 18, 2023, interested parties can submit their proposals via the funding and tender portal. Grants will be awarded to project developers who establish new renewable energy projects utilizing solar photovoltaic technology.</p>
<p>This call for proposals is the first-ever cross-border tender between EU member states.</p>
<p>The Commission said the move signified a new era of collaboration in the field of renewable energy and accomplishing the goals of the European Green Deal and REPowerEU.</p>
<p>Luxembourg has decided to contribute €40 million (~$44 million) voluntarily, while Finland will host the competing projects that will vie for support.</p>
<p>A call for proposals will be the tender format. It will be executed by the European Climate Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (<a href="https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/index_en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CINEA</a>).</p>
<p>The call for proposals will be open for six months, following which CINEA will assess the competing proposals and grant the successful projects based on the lowest bid price until the budget is exhausted.</p>
<p>The chosen projects will be required to construct the installation within 24 months and generate a specified minimum amount of renewable electricity in the following years.</p>
<p>To participate in the tender, eligible companies should build a new solar PV installation with a capacity between 5 and 100 MW while conforming to the regulations of the tender.</p>
<p>The tender is expected to aid in the swift growth of large-scale solar photovoltaic projects in Finland while also enabling Luxembourg to harness renewable energy potential beyond its borders.</p>
<p>Over the next 15 years, the two countries will share the statistical advantages of the renewable energy produced by the supported projects.</p>
<p>The Commission is optimistic that the release of this first tender will stimulate interest among other EU countries and highlight the advantages of such collaborations.</p>
<p>Recently, the European Parliament and the Council provisionally <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/european-renewable-share-to-42-5-by-2030" target="_blank" rel="noopener">agreed</a> to raise the European Union’s binding renewable target to a minimum of 42.5% by 2030, up from 32%. It would mean doubling the existing share of renewables in the EU.</p>
<p>Earlier in the month, the EU Parliament <a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/germany-solar-auction-oversubscribed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">adopted</a> the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, mandating solar rooftop systems for all new buildings by 2028 and renovating residential buildings by 2032.</p>


EU Launches First Tender Under Renewable Energy Financing Mechanism


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					</table><p>The <a href="https://commission.europa.eu/index_en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">European Commission</a> has published the Green Deal Industrial Plan based on the idea of developing a ‘Single Market,’ which will utilize €250 billion (~$274.96 billion) of existing EU funds to safeguard and enhance the competitiveness of its clean energy industry.</p>
<p>With the help of proposed strategies like the Net Zero Industry Plan, Critical Raw Materials Act, REPowerEU, the EU Sovereignty Fund, and the revised Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework, the plan will help keep a majority of investments for cleantech within the region.</p>
<p>The Commission plans to mobilize the existing funds of €250 billion (~$274.96 billion) available under the REPowerEU plan and another €372 billion (~$409.14 billion) under the InvestEU plan.</p>
<p>Previously <a href="https://mercomindia.com/eu-green-deal-industrial-plan-silent/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> by Commission President von der Leyen at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2023, the plan aims to tackle the protectionist programs by China and the U.S.</p>
<p>The president said that the plan would help the EU avoid ‘investment leakage’ into the U.S. due to the latter’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). EU sees the subsidies announced under the IRA as a threat to competition in the EU’s single market.</p>
<p>The Green Deal Industrial Plan is designed to provide a more supportive environment for scaling up the EU’s manufacturing capacity for net-zero technologies and products. Its four pillars are &#8212; a predictable and simplified regulatory environment, speeding up access to finance, enhancing skills, and open trade for resilient supply chains.</p>
<p><strong>Regulatory Framework</strong></p>
<p>In addition to the previous announcement, the Commission said it would propose a Net-Zero Industry Act to identify goals for net-zero industrial capacity and provide a regulatory framework suited for its rapid development and ensure fast-track approvals. It aims to promote European strategic projects and develop standards to support the scale-up of technologies across the ‘Single Market.’</p>
<p>The act would provide a simplified regulatory framework for the production capacity of products that are key to meeting the region&#8217;s climate neutrality goals, such as batteries, windmills, heat pumps, solar, electrolyzers, carbon capture, and storage technologies.</p>
<p>The framework will be complemented by the Critical Raw Materials Act, which will ensure sufficient access to rare earths and similar raw materials vital for manufacturing key technologies and help lower the cost of renewables for consumers.</p>
<p><strong>Funding</strong></p>
<p>The second pillar would help unlock private financing for green transition through the European Capital Markets Union, in conjunction with public funding. Under the competition policy, the Commission aims to make it easier for the member states to grant necessary aid to accelerate the green transition.</p>
<p>The Commission will consult the member states on an amended Temporary State Aid Crisis and Transition Framework. It will revise the General Block Exemption Regulation in light of the Green Deal, increasing notification thresholds for support for green investments.</p>
<p>The Commission will also facilitate the use of existing EU funds of €250 billion (~$274.96 billion) under the Recovery and Resilience plans (RRF) for cleantech innovation, manufacturing, and deployment.</p>
<p>For the mid-term, the Commission intends to propose a European Sovereignty Fund to be reviewed as a multi-annual financial framework before summer 2023.</p>
<p>The Commission also adopted new guidance on recovery and resilience plans and will modify the existing ones in the REPowerEU chapters to help member states access the funds under the program.</p>
<p>The Commission plans to launch its first auction for the production of renewable hydrogen in the autumn of 2023 and the winners of this auction will receive a fixed premium for each kg of renewable hydrogen produced over a period of ten years. Further building on this experience, the Commission considers extending the new competitive bidding mechanism for scaling up manufacturing of components for solar and wind energy, batteries, and electrolyzers, based on an analysis of EU net-zero sector needs, market sizing, and potential project pipeline.</p>
<p><strong>Skill Development</strong></p>
<p>The third pillar will focus on developing skills to manage jobs affected by the green transition. The Commission plans to establish Net-Zero Industry Academies to roll out up-skilling and re-skilling programs in strategic industries.</p>
<p>It would also consider how to combine a ‘Skills-first’ approach, recognizing actual skills, with existing approaches based on qualifications and how to facilitate access of third-country nationals to EU labor markets in priority sectors as well as measures to foster and align public and private funding for skills development.</p>
<p><strong>Open Trade</strong></p>
<p>The fourth pillar will support global cooperation and make trade work for the green transition under the principles of fair competition and open trade, building on engagements with the EU’s partners and the work of the World Trade Organization.</p>
<p>The Commission will continue to develop the EU’s network of Free Trade Agreements and other forms of cooperation with partners to support the green transition.</p>
<p>It will also explore the creation of a Critical Raw Material Club to bring together raw material consumers and resource-rich countries to ensure the security of global supply through a competitive and diversified industrial base and clean tech/net-zero industrial partnerships.</p>
<p>Mercom recently reported on how the Inflation Reduction Act <a href="https://mercomindia.com/ira-rankles-europe-full-scale-green-trade-war-unlikely/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rankled</a> Europe and other parts of the world for its protectionist intent.</p>
<p>China recently <a href="https://mercomindia.com/china-contemplates-exports-of-solar-tech/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that it is contemplating restricting exports of critical technology related to solar photovoltaic components. If implemented, it would restrict local manufacturers from exporting the technology over which China has a stranglehold.</p>


EU Seeks to Counter US and China with a €250 Billion Green Deal Industrial Plan


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					</table><p>Company heads of 13 leading European solar organizations have urged the European Commission to call for action to boost investment in the continent’s solar photovoltaic (PV) industrial base and reinforce the Commission’s solar deployment and energy security ambitions.</p>
<p>They want the commission to extend financial support for large-scale manufacturing projects and competitive operating expenditure support, particularly for energy-intensive polysilicon, ingot, and wafer production.</p>
<p>The CEOs from companies such as SolarPower Europe, First Solar, BayWa r.e., Wacker Chemie AG, and Iberdrola Group were the signatories to the open letter submitted earlier this month.</p>
<p>Referring to the recent <a href="https://mercomindia.com/european-union-urged-to-rethink-the-structure-of-its-energy-markets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IEA Special Report</a> on solar PV supply chains, the signatories raised concerns regarding the dominant concentration of supply chains being cumulated in a single geography. The report revealed that global solar PV manufacturing capacity has increasingly shifted over the last decade from Europe, Japan, and the United States to China. China was found to have invested over $50 billion in new PV supply capacity – ten times more than Europe − and created as many as 300,000 manufacturing jobs across the solar PV value chain since 2011.</p>
<p>To ensure Europe’s participation within a globally diversified solar supply chain, signatories called on the commission to replicate the success of the European Chips Act, which works towards boosting Europe’s competitiveness and resilience in semiconductor technologies and promoting solar PV production in the National Resilience and Recovery Facility (RRF). The RRF helps the EU achieve its climate neutrality target by 2050 and sets Europe on a path of digital transition, creating jobs and spurring growth in the process.</p>
<p>Pointing at these global developments in solar PV manufacturing support schemes in the U.S. and India, the signatories called on EU leaders to build on the continent’s leading solar energy research legacy.</p>
<p>The United States Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) benefits for OPEX and CAPEX resonate with investors, leading to accelerated investments. According to a report by Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will <a href="https://mercomindia.com/european-union-urged-to-rethink-the-structure-of-its-energy-markets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">help</a> the United States solar market grow 40% or add 62 GW of additional capacity over baseline projections through 2027</p>
<p>The letter also welcomed the recently <a href="https://mercomindia.com/european-union-urged-to-rethink-the-structure-of-its-energy-markets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> REPowerEU plan while highlighting the international measures adopted by other countries which are increasing the global competition for solar PV value chains outside of Europe.</p>
<p>Through its REPowerEU plan, the Commission intends to make Europe independent from Russian fossil fuels before 2030. The plan also proposes an EU Solar Strategy, under which the commission intends to double its solar PV capacity by 2025 and install 600 GW by 2030.</p>
<p>In June this year, energy storage company Fluence Energy and nine other energy market organizations also <a href="https://mercomindia.com/european-union-urged-to-rethink-the-structure-of-its-energy-markets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> to European policymakers to rethink the structure of European energy markets and the REPowerEU plan. In a letter, they outlined why Europe needs a rapid rollout of technologies to increase grid flexibility and strong targets and policy frameworks to encourage the near-term adoption of these technologies.</p>


Companies Urge EU to Boost Investment in Solar Manufacturing Facilities


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					</table><p>Energy storage company <a href="https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&amp;&amp;p=85615eb52498721dbd522a7926ecdb96870a0781bc7f196f6f6064807f040e7fJmltdHM9MTY1Nzg2NjMxNCZpZ3VpZD0zYTAyMGEyYS1iYmY2LTRmMDktOTA4NS0zMjhhZGQ3YjNlZDgmaW5zaWQ9NTE1Nw&amp;ptn=3&amp;fclid=e2b97d78-0406-11ed-866b-bdf9a744940f&amp;u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly9mbHVlbmNlZW5lcmd5LmNvbS8&amp;ntb=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fluence Energy</a> and nine other energy market organizations have written to European policymakers to rethink the structure of European energy markets and the REPowerEU plan.</p>
<p>In a letter, they outlined why Europe needs a rapid rollout of technologies to increase grid flexibility and strong targets and policy frameworks to encourage the near-term adoption of these technologies.</p>
<p><strong>What is the REPowerEU plan?</strong></p>
<p>REPowerEU plan is the European Commission&#8217;s plan to make Europe independent from Russian fossil fuels well before 2030, considering Russia&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine. The plan sets out a series of measures to rapidly reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels and fast forward the green transition while increasing the resilience of the EU-wide energy system.</p>
<p>The signatories highlighted the urgent need to rethink the structure of European energy systems in light of the current geopolitical situation across the continent, combined with high dependency on imported natural gas and growing electricity demand.</p>
<p>The companies argued that for this plan to be successful, it must be accompanied by adequate targets and policy frameworks to deploy energy storage and other flexibility technologies. They were necessary to enable renewables&#8217; safe and efficient integration into the electric grid.</p>
<p>While welcoming REPowerEU Plan, the signatories said that if the accelerated near-term deployment of renewable energy sources was to be successful, Europe needed a rapid rollout of proven and scalable technologies to increase grid flexibility and enable the safe and efficient integration of renewable generation.</p>
<p>To this end, battery-based energy storage was a quickly deployed, cost-effective, and low-emissions solution with the potential to become a backbone of modern, resilient, and decarbonized energy systems. Other technologies, such as demand side response, the improved utilization of existing storage potential of pumped hydroelectric, and other energy storage technologies, as well as the interconnectivity between national electricity markets, were all critical to enabling the European energy transition, they said.</p>
<p>The companies believe that battery-based energy storage can enhance network stability and ease congestion on transmission lines, reducing renewable curtailment and its high costs. It can provide capacity and ancillary services that balance supply and demand, often more efficient and cheaper than other technologies. It can also limit price volatility and, thereby, the overall electricity cost in the wholesale energy markets through energy arbitrage.</p>
<p>The signatories argued that the European energy market should be designed to provide clear price signals to generators and customers in line with the system&#8217;s needs at any moment in time. Energy prices should be low at times of high renewable generation and higher during periods of low generation. Similarly, the cost of using the grid should be higher when it is congested, providing price signals to local generation and consumption that helps to lower the congestion on the grid.</p>
<p>The signatories also suggest that the carbon intensity of peaking power plants needs to be addressed in capacity market design and through new policy measurements such as clean peaking standards. Grid connections for energy storage should be prioritized. Introducing flexible connection agreements in congested areas can speed up the integration of storage, which in turn can help reduce congestion based on market signals.</p>
<p>The group argued that the existing barriers to storage in national markets, such as charging of fees, levies, or taxes were not cost-reflective and disadvantageous to storage technologies.</p>
<p>The European Commission is <a href="https://mercomindia.com/european-commission-invest-1-8-billion-innovative-clean-energy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investing</a> €1.8 billion (~$1.804 billion) in 17 large-scale innovative clean energy projects worldwide. The investment is part of the second call of the Commission’s Innovation Fund with a 60% increase in the budget. The 17 selected projects will bring breakthrough technologies in energy-intensive industries, hydrogen, renewable energy, carbon capture, and storage infrastructure, and manufacturing key components for energy storage and renewables.</p>
<p>Last month, the EU <a href="https://mercomindia.com/eu-grants-e2-4-billion-to-seven-european-nations-to-modernize-energy-systems/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">provided</a> £2.4 billion (~$2.405 billion) to seven European nations to modernize energy systems, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support them in meeting their 2030 climate and energy goals. Under the program, funds will be provided for eight solar parks in Romania.</p>


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