Rooftop solar energy compulsory for all new buildings?

Rooftop PV could provide almost 25% of the EU’s electricity consumption – this is more than the share of natural gas today.

The EU-wide European Solar Rooftops Initiative, announced in May in the Commission’s REPowerEU plan, aims at unlocking the vast, underutilised solar generation potential of rooftops to make our energy cleaner, more secure and affordable.

The EU will:

– Increase its 2030 target for renewables share to 45%

– Limit the length of permitting for rooftop solar installations, including large ones, to a maximum of 3 months

– Make the installation of rooftop solar energy compulsory for all new residential buildings by 2029.

Facilitate the uptake of BIPV by actors in the construction sector

Building-integrated PV (BIPV) represents a novel form of solar deployment: they constitute a construction product, while at the same time allowing solar electricity generation from additional surfaces.

EU-wide deployment would require homogeneous certification for the affected products, as well as customised professional training and university programmes. National governments can also provide guidance to local authorities on how to deal with BIPV in their permitting decisions.

Ensuring the availability of an abundant skilled workforce to face up the challenge of producing and deploying solar energy

Vocational and Educational Training is an important instrument to address this challenge and Member States are encouraged to analyse the skills gap in the solar energy sector and develop training programmes fit for purpose.