A Rystad Energy report showed that EU warehouses have solar panels with a total capacity of 40 GW, equivalent to installed capacity in the block in 2022.
Euronews reports that one of the reasons for this accumulation is bureaucratic processes, according to company coordinator Tara Connolly.
It is noted that the launch of these solar panels could replace 7 billion cubic meters of fossil gas.
According to Rystad Energy forecasts, the number of panels in storage should grow to 100 GW. Researchers believe that this trend indicates the presence of significant bottlenecks and obstacles to the installation of solar stations.
“European countries need to scale up training programs for solar panel installers, eliminate grid bottlenecks and streamline bureaucratic processes to get solar panels from warehouses to rooftops as quickly as possible,” Connolly said.
She added that this should be a top priority for governments across Europe who are trying to cut emissions and phase out fossil gas quickly.
The EU has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050 and is accelerating its energy diversification away from fossil fuels due to the Russian-Ukrainian war. Prior to the full-scale invasion, Russia provided 40% of EU imports of natural gas, about 25% of oil and 70% of coal. The European Union has placed an embargo on most Russian oil and coal, and has sharply reduced Russian gas imports by turning to alternative suppliers.
“This energy dependence on Russia and Moscow’s use of its weapons – it cut off gas supplies through the Nord Stream gas pipelines to Western Europe – prompted the EU to double its renewable energy deployment target by 2030 to 42.5%, and member countries called for reduce red tape for such projects,” the article says.
As a reminder, researchers from the European Climate Neutrality Observatory (ENCO) have called on the bloc to significantly accelerate its efforts to cut emissions in order to meet climate targets for 2030 and 2050.
As EcoPolitics previously reported, a study by the non-profit organization Environmental Progress showed that the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) underestimated the carbon footprint of solar panels manufactured in China by 3-5 times for about 10 years.
