The European solar association has released a new report that recommends
ten actions to further support solar across the EU. Innovative financing
mechanisms and new business models, as well as balanced regulatory frameworks,
are considered necessary to ensure the future growth of PV in Europe.
The European solar energy association SolarPower Europe has released the
report "PV Financing” which provides a series of recommendations for the
further development of solar across the European Union. The
recommendations are intended to improve the revision of the EU Renewable Energy
Directive, which will be included in the so-called Winter Package, whose
preliminary version was presented by the European Commission in late 2016. The
package provides the future energy market design of the EU and a set of
principles for the transition to a clean energy economy both at EU and national
level.
The association said that priority number one for the future of solar in
the EU is the definition of new financing mechanisms, especially for PV
projects backed by long-term loans. SolarPower Europe suggests that a new
EU-level financial instrument to reduce the cost of finance, which usually
represents about a third of the typical Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE)
for solar, is necessary. The organization, in fact, claims that the cost of
capital for PV projects across the EU can vary considerably between countries.
This issue could be addressed, SolarPower Europe finds, by adopting the EU
Renewable Energy Cost Reduction Facility proposed by German think-tank Agora
Energiewende. If implemented, this proposal would assign a major role to the
European Investment Bank (EIB), which would back specific national support
schemes. Bilateral agreements between the EIB and member states would offer
developers the guarantee that the bank would pay the promised subsidy, if a
member state failed to make the payment. If this were to happen, however, the EIB
would be entitled to reclaim the unpaid sum from the member state.
"The contract between the EIB and the Member State,” the association added,
"would also cover non-financial aspects of the regulatory framework for
renewables in that country, i.e. permit granting and grid connections, and
could set a maximum volume of projects in MW that would be covered under the
mechanism so as to cap the maximum liability.”
The report also provides recommendations on how to avoid retroactive
policies, grid-fees, and on how to ensure that solar is not subject to unfair
curtailment. Moreover, the report suggests actions on how to promote
self-consumption and net metering, to encourage PPAs and the mini-utility
model.
"The policy outlook is broadly positive for solar at EU level thanks to the
publication of the Clean Energy for all Europeans package. By mid-2018 there
should be clarity on what the EU-level regulatory framework is going to be over
the next ten years or so, and we hope some of the barriers above will have been
removed. This should help shape a positive framework for solar at national
level,” concluded SolarPower Europe in its report.
(www.pv-magazine.com)