The European Union wants to accelerate a large-scale rollout of solar energy while also rebuilding Europe’s solar manufacturing industry. The plan i

Solar panels will become mandatory on all new EU buildings

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2022-05-21 18:30:02

The European Union wants to accelerate a large-scale rollout of solar energy while also rebuilding Europe’s solar manufacturing industry. The plan is part of the bloc’s strategy to end its reliance on Russian fossil fuels, especially natural gas, by 2030. The EU currently gets about 40% of its gas from Russia at a cost of over $110 million a day.

Half of the EU’s energy would come from renewable sources by 2030, more than double the current amount, according to the European Commission’s plan, named RepowerEU. This would cost hundreds of billions of euros, but much of that money would come from savings on imported fuel. Still, in order to achieve this, swift action is required.

As part of the plan, the EU introduced several measures, ranging from the doubling of the rate of deployment of heat pumps to establishing ‘go-to’ areas for renewables. Among these measures, the European Commission has also |introduced the “solar rooftop initiative” which would make it mandatory to install solar panels on new public and commercial buildings, as well as new residential buildings by 2029.

“There is a double urgency to transform Europe’s energy system: ending the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels, which are used as an economic and political weapon and cost European taxpayers nearly €100 billion per year, and tackling the climate crisis,” the European Commission said in a statement earlier this week.