Media Advisory Note
RED-y? The progress of Member States on the implementation of the Renewable Energy Directive
Progress on spatial planning for renewables deployment across Member States has been mixed. Many have taken significant steps to meet the deadline and appear on track to designate Renewables Acceleration Areas. However, some Member States have not yet started the implementation.
Brussels, 21st May 2025 –
What is happening: Tomorrow, 21 May, marks the deadline for EU Member States to implement Article 15b of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III), which requires coordinated spatial mapping of areas for renewable energy projects and other related infrastructure, such as electricity grids. This mapping aims at identifying the domestic potential and the available land surface to contribute towards the EU’s overall renewables target for 2030.
Importantly, it will lead to the designation of Renewables Acceleration Areas (RAAs). RAAs are a subset of the identified suitable areas for renewable energy deployment where projects will benefit from a faster permitting process. The idea is to ultimately speed up the rollout of renewable projects in the most suitable and least impacting areas and thus accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels to renewables, prioritising a nature-friendly and social-inclusive approach.
Why is this important:
This comes on the week of the third anniversary of the REPowerEU plan to further accelerate renewable and end reliance on Russian fossil fuels and any other kind of fossil fuels. It introduced a higher EU-wide binding renewables target for 2030: Today, the EU needs to deliver at least 42,5% target for 2030 with the ambition to reach 45%. A key aspect of this plan is streamlining permitting procedures, which drove changes to the Renewable Energy Directive requiring spatial planning and mapping of suitable areas for renewables and dedicated infrastructures.
This includes, among other measures, designating “Renewables Acceleration Areas” where permitting processes are further simplified. With RED III entered into force in November 2023, integrating the permitting provisions proposed in the RePowerEU Plan, Member States have now the obligation to both transpose them into national law and take effective actions.
“As some Member States progress at different levels in implementing RED III and advancing a coordinated spatial planning, we call on all of them to step up. Robust implementation must now move forward, balancing the urgent need for speed with quality through meaningful public participation, transparent planning, and strong safeguards for nature.” – Flore Belin, Renewable Energy Expert at Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe
“In light of the ambitious timeline of RED III, we acknowledge all efforts taken so far by Member States to implement a coordinated spatial mapping to identify areas suitable for renewable energy projects. Nevertheless, we encourage all Member States to keep pace, to take prompt actions and designate clear responsibilities in the further steps of implementation.” – Marion Wingenbach, Senior Researcher at Öko Institut
The state of play of the assessment
Our preliminary analysis of 10 targeted Member States shows mixed progress. Many have taken relevant steps to meet the deadline and appear on track to designate Renewables Acceleration Areas. However, some Member States are lagging behind to fulfil the requirements in time or failed to do so completely.
In terms of coordinated spatial mapping, the majority of Member States have been progressing well and the process has been partially completed in several countries with best practices emerging in Czechia, Hungary, Estonia and Portugal. These countries were quick to act and designated clear responsibilities to implement the RED III requirements promptly.
Front-running Member States rely on clear and comprehensive mapping criteria, including distance to e.g., infrastructure and settlements and included renewables technology specific data. Furthermore, they add protected areas and high sensitivity areas to exclusion zones, with good practices especially in Portugal and Croatia.
In some cases, in France and Germany for instance, regulations and mechanisms for the spatial mapping of areas for renewable energy projects were put in place before the RED III was formalised. While these may not fully comply with the RED III requirements, they can lead to a similar desired result.
– ENDS –
Notes to the Editor:
These are the preliminary findings that are part of an ongoing joint study with Öko-Institut, CAN Europe, WWF EU, Birdlife Europe, the European Environmental Bureau and The Nature Conservancy. This work is part of a follow-up on the report published in May 2024 on the Overview of Renewable Energy Spatial Planning and Designation of Acceleration Areas in Selected EU Member States.
A more detailed version of the follow-up report will be launched and presented in September, 2025.
