the European Parliament passed the EU Solar Standard in the EU Building Performance Directive

On March 12, local time in Europe, the European Parliament passed the EU Solar Standard in the EU Building Performance Directive, which aims to help reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the EU construction industry, striving to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. According to data from the European Commission, buildings in the EU consume 40% of the region's energy and emit 36% of greenhouse gases.

The directive was passed in the European Parliament with 370 votes in favor, 199 against, and 46 abstentions. The next step is to receive formal approval from the Council of Ministers to become law.

This means that photovoltaic power generation must be integrated into construction projects, and public institutions must gradually start installing photovoltaic systems on their buildings starting from 2026.

By 2030, all new buildings should achieve zero emissions; by 2028, new buildings occupied or owned by the public sector should achieve zero emissions. When calculating emissions, member states will consider the global warming potential of the building's life cycle, including the production and disposal of building products used in the construction.

For residential buildings, member states must take measures to ensure at least a 16% reduction in primary energy use by 2030, and a reduction of 20% to 22% by 2035.

According to the new directive, member states must renovate the worst-performing 16% of non-residential buildings by 2030, and by 2033, renovate the worst-performing 26% of non-residential buildings through minimum energy performance requirements.

If feasible in terms of technology and economics, by 2030, member states will have to gradually install solar power devices in all new residential buildings based on the scale of public and non-residential buildings.

The progressive EU Solar Standard will require:

New commercial and public buildings by 2026,

Relevant renovations of commercial and public buildings by 2027,

New residential buildings by 2029,

Existing public buildings by 2030.

Agricultural and historical buildings can be exempted, and EU member states can decide to exclude buildings with special architectural or historical value, temporary buildings, as well as churches and places of worship.

Jan Osenberg, Senior Policy Advisor at SolarPower Europe, said, "Today, the European Parliament has adopted the EU Solar Standard, achieving a significant milestone in accelerating the deployment of renewable energy. Starting from 2026, the EU Solar Standard will require the installation of solar roofs in a large part of the existing building stock in Europe. The EU Solar Standard brings electricity to the citizens and integrates energy transition into our sleeping, working, and living spaces."

He explained, "As the grid catches up with the energy transition, installing energy generation where we consume energy will also help the grid keep electricity local and empower citizens with information and technological capabilities for smart energy use. They can see when generation increases and adjust their consumption accordingly."

The European Solar Power Association (SPE) released the "2023-2027 European PV Market Outlook," showing that in 2023, the EU added 55.9 gigawatts of PV installations, a 40% increase compared to the previous year, with 14 countries adding installations equal to or exceeding 1 gigawatt, four more countries than in 2022.

The European Solar Power Report released at the end of last year also predicted an installed capacity of 73.8 GW by 2025, followed by 84.2 GW in 2026 and 93.1 GW in 2027.