RED III European directive: a new ambitious acceleration for renewable energy

Published in the Official Gazzette on 2 November 2023, the new European directive Red III (EU directive 2023/2413) will be in force on 20 November and each member States shall implement it in its national law by 21 May 2025.

The main goal of the new European renewable energy measure – which amends the previous Red II directive (EU directive 2018/2001) – is to reach a quota of energy from renewable sources of 42.5% (from the previous 32%) of the overall EU energy mix by 2030.

A bold step towards a more sustainable future, considering that the contribution of renewables in the European energy mix in 2021 was 21.8%.

But what is actually going to change?

The directive identifies the streamlining of the authorisation procedures for renewable energy plants as a solution to accelerate the spread of these energy sources. The challenging task facing the member States will now be to align their authorisation procedures with the new deadlines set out by the European Union. To this end, by 21 February 2024, member States shall consider renewable energy installations as being under “main public interest”.

National authorities may take no longer than 12 months (two years for offshore renewables) to approve projects in “Renewable Energy Reference Zones” – specific locations, both on land and sea, that are particularly suitable for the installation of renewable energy plants – and two years (three for offshore projects) to approve projects outside these zones.

A very ambitious goal also for Italy, both in terms of volume of renewable energy in relation to the total energy use (in 2021 only 19%), and in terms of adjusting the national authorisation procedures for renewable plants, which currently take on average about seven years to be finalised.