While the EU bill won’t match the US’s $369 billion IRA splurge, Ehler assured that it would still send a strong signal.
“The EU’s instruments are of a different nature and may not elicit a commensurate response,” said Ehrler of the European People’s Party Group. However, “the strength of the European market and [the] The strength of European ideas. ”
The agreement marks an alarming crossroads for Europe’s renewable energy industry. As solar companies go bankrupt en masse, claiming unfair Chinese subsidies have flooded the market with cheaper alternatives, how should Brussels bail out a sinking industry, or should it? EU countries are divided in their opinions.
The Net Zero Industry Act was proposed last year as part of a broader rethink of EU policy aimed at bringing manufacturing back into the bloc. The bill sets a goal for the EU to supply 40% of its own demand for clean technologies by 2030, primarily by accelerating typically cumbersome permitting procedures and protecting domestic companies from unfair foreign competition. are doing.
The law outlines a list of these clean technologies and designates some as “strategic” projects, making it easier for these projects to apply for expedited permits and access funding.
The new bill would also amend government contracting rules for green technologies, inserting measures to favor local options in some cases. The law also authorizes a series of requirements, including environmental standards, for foreign companies seeking government contracts within the EU.
Separately, the bill also advances the EU’s plans to build a carbon capture and storage network. It has set a goal of creating 50 million tons of carbon storage capacity per year and mandates oil and gas companies to help fund the effort. Notably, the final bill includes penalties for fossil fuel companies that do not comply.