The European Sustainable Energy Week

This week from June 11 to 13 the European Sustainable Energy Week is taking place in Brussels. At Robinsun we’re all about sustainability in residential energy, and would like to highlight what is being done in Europe in this regard.

What is the European Sustainable Energy Week

According to the EU commission’s website, “the European Sustainable Energy Week is the biggest annual event dedicated to renewables and efficient energy use in Europe.” European Sustainable Energy Week runs from 11 to 13 of June, and includes a range of activities in Brussels to bring stakeholders together. It is organized by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) and the Directorate-General for Energy.

The agenda of the European Sustainable Energy Week includes a lot of sessions on all kinds of topics related to energy - except solar energy for the vast majority of European households that cannot install a big PV installation on a roof. This happens either because they live in apartments (50% of European households) or because they are not served by rooftop solar installation companies. And this is exactly the market that Robinsun is fighting for.

What’s Robinsun’s take on the event

At Robinsun we support any activity in Europe that helps to deploy renewable energy generation, and particularly solar power in households. While residential solar installations have grown significantly over the past decade, there is still a long way to go until all European households have a fair access to the benefits of solar energy at home.

So far Germany is the only market where residential solar installations have managed to go far beyond the traditional rooftop installations, with an estimated 1.5-2m plug & play solar kits installed. The German government has enacted a series of changes over the past 2 years especially, that have made plug & play installations easier, cheaper and more popular. Over 100.000 citizens have signed a petition to the Bundestag to request changes in 2023, a huge success and also a proof that citizens are very much aware of the need for change. In 2023 VAT was dropped to 0% in Germany, a move followed also by Austria and the Netherlands. We recently wrote about the latest law amendments.

We are somewhat surprised that during this year’s European Sustainable Energy Week plug & play solar isn’t even on the agenda. Considering the huge and immediate potential impact, and the spectacular showcase in Germany, we believe that this is a huge missed opportunity for the European Sustainable Energy Week.

Operating in various countries in Europe, at Robinsun we see how especially in Southern Europe, where solar energy gives the highest production yields, there are still too many restrictions on small solar installations, absurd certification or registration requirements and costs associated. This has to change, to make sure all households can easily and with no extra costs install their kits. IT would have been good to see these topics debated at this year’s European Sustainable Energy Week.