About this report

Between October 2023 and March 2025, the IEA implemented the “Accelerating Renewable Energy Permitting” (ARPE) action. The goal of ARPE was to support five EU Member states – Finland, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and the Slovak Republic (Focus countries) – in developing and implementing policy and regulatory measures aimed at reaching their renewable energy targets, notably through accelerating permitting of renewable energy projects.

In support of this objective, the IEA organised and facilitated five workshops focused on the following topics:

• streamlining administrative procedures


• accelerating offshore wind deployment


• facilitating spatial planning for renewable energy deployment


• ensuring public engagement and acceptance, and a


• final workshop summarizing the project’s findings.

The objective of these workshops has been to understand the challenges and priorities of the focus countries, share international best practices, and offer a platform for discussion. The IEA Secretariat brought together experts from across governments, regulators, civil society and industry. Invited speakers and discussants shared their experiences and lessons learned, providing multiple applicable insights for policy makers in focus countries and beyond.

This webpage contains a summary of the main findings resulting from the ARPE action, as well as the summary reports containing the main findings of each workshop. It provides examples of solutions and can inform policy-making, as well as all other stakeholders engaged in renewable energy project development.

The project was funded by the European Union (EU) via the Technical Support Instrument, which is managed by the Reform and Investment Task Force (SG REFORM) of the European Commission. The project is implemented by the International Energy Agency (IEA), in cooperation with the European Commission.

PublishedApril 2025

LicenceCC BY 4.0

Funded by

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  European Union

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Background

In May 2022, the European Commission released the REPowerEU aimed at rapidly accelerating the clean energy transition in the European Union. The plan includes increasing the 2030 target for renewable energy in the overall energy mix to 42.5% (with the ambition of 45%) – up from 40% in the 2021 proposal. Achieving this will require more than 1 200 gigawatts (GW) of installed cumulative renewable power capacity by 2030, almost double that of 2023.

The key barrier to rapid renewables deployment in many EU Member states is lengthy and complex administrative procedures related to project permitting. In May 2022, the European Commission released recommendations on permitting, including on identification of renewable acceleration areas (RAAs) where shortened and simplified permitting can be applied.

In November 2023, the revised Renewable Energy Directive came into force, with additional measures regarding permitting, including transition to electronic-only procedures, and the imposition of shorter and stricter processing deadlines in renewables acceleration areas (RAAs). According to the revised Directive, Member states need to ensure that the permitting process doesn’t exceed two years (three years for offshore wind), including environmental impact assessment, and even less in RAAs and in case of repowering. In the past year, many Member states have introduced significant policy improvements; however, much remains to be done to ensure that the EU energy transition is not delayed by the permitting challenge.

The following key permitting challenges have been identified through the ARPE action:

• Unnecessarily strict reporting requirements for developers


• Lack of co‑ordination among government agencies handling permit applications


• Insufficient capacity of administrative offices and digitalisation of the permitting process


• Lack of maximum processing deadlines


• Lack of coordination between grid and renewable energy spatial planning


• Delays and issues in implementation of effective renewables acceleration areas


• Insufficient engagement with local communities


• Risk of prolonged litigation

All these challenges lead to significant delays and increased risk in renewable energy project development, rising costs and discouraging investment. In some Member states, completing the permitting process can take up to five years for utility-scale solar PV projects and up to nine years for onshore wind, which puts EU targets at risk.

Policy priority areas and actions

Based on the final workshop’s findings, policy makers should consider focusing on the following priority areas and actions to accelerate renewable energy project permitting:

• The overriding public interest principle can be a powerful instrument. Nevertheless, several Member states signalled they would welcome more guidance on its implementation from the European Commission. A database containing implementation cases and lessons learnt would also be highly beneficial.


• Adopting a national risk-based approach in policy and administrative procedures design can help streamlining the permitting process. Local authorities and all administrative offices need to have properly trained staff and be equipped with digital tools to execute tasks related to such risk-based systems.


• Implementing one-stop shops, preferably coupled with digital infrastructure and tools, is a critical step to accelerate permit applications processing.


• Ensuring close coordination between (anticipatory) grid development plans and spatial planning for renewables is crucial for faster deployment. Short- and medium-term solutions taking into account long lead times for grid expansion and addressing grid congestion concerns should also include storage and flexible demand-side management. In addition, these solutions should also include designating areas for new renewable assets close to industrial clusters.


• In principle, renewable acceleration areas can be an effective instrument to reduce project lead times, however, their actual implementation can be challenging in some cases. Further discussions and exchanges on best practices, as well as guidance, are needed to avoid unintended consequences.


• Schemes for sharing the benefits of renewable energy investments with local communities over the project lifetime can be a very effective tool to create trust and local support. In addition, community ownership of projects should also be enabled and supported. Both actions can increase perceived fairness, lead to a more positive narrative and consequently higher public acceptance of renewable energy projects.

More specific policy priority areas and actions can be found in the following workshop summaries:

• Workshop summary on “Streamlining Administrative Procedures” (15 November 2023)


• Workshop summary on “Accelerating Offshore Wind Deployment” (25 April 2024)


• Workshop summary on “Facilitating Spatial Planning for Renewable Energy Deployment” (10 October 2024)


• Workshop summary on “Ensuring Public Engagement and Acceptance” (6 November 2024)

These documents were produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. These documents reflect the views of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Secretariat but do not necessarily reflect those of individual IEA Member countries. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.