PowerSwitch

In March 2007, EU heads of state and government adopted a binding target to source 20% of the EU's overall energy from renewables by 2020. In order to reach the target, in January 2008 the European Commission proposed a new directive promoting the use of energy from renewable sources, which was endorsed by the European summit in December that year.

The legislation, replacing the previous 2006 directive, sets national targets for renewable energies but gives member states a free hand to decide which mix of renewables to pursue. In June 2009, the Commission issued a template for National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs), which member states have to produce when presenting their chosen course of action by the end of June 2010.

But the uptake of solar will ultimately depend on the successful integration of these decentralised energies into the electricity grid, which will require significant infrastructure upgrades across Europe.

The new directive on the internal market in electricity, adopted as part of the EU's third internal energy market package in June 2009, aims to remove barriers to renewable electricity's access to the grid. Moreover, it obliges member states to consider the 20% goal when authorising the construction of new generating capacity.