5% of new capacity from “Innovative” Renewable Energy: A necessary and do-able enhancement to the Renewable Energy Directive

On 26 September 2022, the European Parliament agreed on its position on the revised Renewable Energy Directive, which include three amendments with set targets for Member States. Firstly, a target for 5% of renewable energy capacity to be "innovative", demand-side flexibility of 5% of peak electricity, and for Member States to set non-binding energy storage targets for 2030.

EASE's contribution to this paper highlights that energy storage targets will facilitate the further penetration of renewable electricity into the electricity grid and buffer new grid-connected loads that will need to run 24/7 to be economical, like electrolysers.

The European Parliament’s position does not outline the metric for this target, i.e. whether capacity should be measured simply in GW or in GWh also. Spain has already outlined its own energy storage strategy, setting itself a target of 20 GW of energy storage by 2030. The amendment is the starting point for a full EU-level strategy on energy storage, with a 2030 target, subdivided into binding national targets.