By 2030, some 50 percent of the EU’s power mix will come from renewables (RES). Solar PV and wind power will almost certainly contribute to more than half of this share. For a successful transition, cross-border policy coordination and cooperation are key. The costs of non-cooperation are large and expected to increase throughout the energy transition. As decarbonisation rests on continuous investments in renewables it is key that the costs associated with these investments are kept as low as possible. This brings about some questions: What are the costs of deploying RES in scenarios of cross-border policy coordination and non-coordination? What are the options for cooperating across borders to minimise the costs of RES deployment? What (broader) regulatory and policy areas should be considered when designing cooperation tools for RES deployment?
Opening national support schemes holds the promise, e.g. when combined with competitive bidding, to achieve cost-optimal RES deployment through maximising the market value of successful RES bids irrespective of national boundaries and minimising costs of land. The question emerges whether this approach, based on specific economic and juridical considerations is enough to enable a level-playing field and a cost-effective RES-E role out in the EU and its member states. Potentially, this approach neglects distortions arising from differing domestic frameworks that cannot easily be expected to be harmonised (e.g. differences in permitting & grid connection regimes as well as fiscal aspects).
The project has been analysing the conditions for sensible cross-border RES cooperation. The Pentalateral Energy Forum region is the empirical case study, embedded in an EU-wide discourse of the project.