Belgium will defend citizens’ energy at the ministerial summit

Energy Minister Tinne van der Straeten told Euronews she hopes to secure cross-government recognition of the benefits of local energy cooperatives this week, during the final energy summit of Belgium’s six-month presidency of the EU Council.

Van der Straeten, a Green Party supporter in Belgium’s diverse coalition government, spoke on Tuesday (May 28) after signing the NGO’s manifesto calling on another member of the European Parliament and a member of the EU’s executive to promote energy communities, arguing that potential “energy citizens” could invest up to €240 billion for the energy transition by 2030.

Energy communities are voluntary cooperative programs that offer a local alternative to commercial energy companies, for example through shared ownership of a wind turbine or photovoltaic array, helping decentralize electricity production – and, supporters argue, reduce costs, dependence on fossil fuels and increase security of supply.

“It is very important to develop an inclusive energy policy from the perspective of citizens, but also from the perspective of nature,” van der Straeten said. “Therefore, involving citizens in energy policy is of the utmost importance.”

The minister acknowledged the need to strengthen local distribution networks, echoing a call made last week by the European electricity industry, whose industry association Eurelectric estimates that investment will need to double in the coming decades to enable the expansion of renewable energy sources driven by EU climate policy in 2050. goal of neutrality.

Energy ministers are due to adopt conclusions tomorrow (30 May) on “the development of sustainable electricity network infrastructure” and will discuss progress on the EU Green Deal and the future development of the RePowerEU plan, which tightens renewable energy targets in response to the energy crisis triggered by an undeclared war Vladimir Putin with Ukraine.

Ahead of the public exchange of views, the Belgian Presidency asked ministers to consider what “additional initiatives” could be taken to help end the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels “as quickly as possible.”

As part of the discussion on the Green Deal, ministers were invited to consider how to accelerate progress towards the 2030 targets by reducing energy demand and increasing the share of renewable energy sources in the European system to at least 42.5%, as well as express their views on how best to develop network infrastructure.

Van der Straeten, who will chair the summit in Brussels, said that achieving these goals would require strengthening the European network both at the level of long-distance transmission and at the level of local distribution, and this would require better planning and coordination, as well as more direct involvement of citizens .

“I am absolutely convinced that if we involve the energy communities more, we will be able to operate the networks better and develop renewable energy faster,” said the Belgian federal minister.

In the event of the leak of the draft conclusions on network infrastructure of 18 May seen by Euronews, the Council would call on Member States to ensure the close involvement of citizens and energy communities in infrastructure planning and to “revisit” procedures for network connection and access opportunities, to ensure a “level playing field” between local entities and incumbent energy companies.

It also asks governments to “ensure the implementation of nature-sensitive design plans to reconcile accelerating network development and generation, storage, flexibility and demand growth with protecting the environment and biodiversity.”

Van der Straeten expressed confidence that the final wording agreed on Thursday would include support for community energy projects and told Euronews that the NGO behind the energy communities manifesto, REScoop.eu, had been invited to lunch with ministers during the summit.

The Brussels-based campaign group is making ten demands of candidates in the upcoming EU elections, including full implementation of existing rules supporting the development of local energy projects, access to EU funds and exemption from the general ban on state aid – and EU – level strategies to support them in all EU policy areas.

REScoop CEO Dirk Vansintjan welcomed Van der Straeten’s support and the signal he gave of “political support for citizen-led energy initiatives that put citizens at the center of the energy transition.”

Vansintjan said the group’s general meeting and forum in Prague, held earlier this month, also showed strong interest from Ukrainian participants in developing community energy projects. “Their assessment of what is happening there indicates that we need to decentralize energy production because we are very vulnerable if we are dependent on a few large installations,” he said.