In March 28th 2018, Solar Heat Europe, together with 9 other European renewable energy associations, sent an open letter to Elisabeth Köstinger, Austria’s minister of sustainability and tourism, and Sebastian Kurz, the country’s Chancellor, regarding the importance for the upcoming Austrian presidency of the European Council to ensure a bright future for the Clean energy package.

To back up the future of a competitive industry of renewable energy sources, the renewable energy coalition considers the following requirements as crucial:

• Support ambitious and reliable targets of at least 35% renewable energy by 2030 and national commitments to create a stable environment for investments;
• Maintain priority access and dispatches for all existing installations, for small-scale installations and demonstration projects post 2020, until power markets transition from a fossil and nuclear base load to a renewable base load;
• Support the uptake of self-consumption in Europe. It will be at the core of a consumer powered Energy Union, and become an integral part of the future energy system driven by sector coupling, the uptake of electro-mobility and decentralisation of our energy production;
• Defend the rigorous CO2-criterion of 550gCO2/kWh for capacity mechanisms to ensure that capacity markets do not maintain an inflexible power market, but instead guarantee the eligibility and reward of flexible renewable sources;
• Provide more visibility to renewable heating and cooling and define ambitious targets and policies for this crucial sector for the effective decarbonisation of the EU by 2050;
• Support a strong carbon price, providing the needed long-term signals for further investment and innovation in clean technologies in Europe.