Renewable Energy Law in the EU: Legal Perspectives on Bottom-Up Approaches

This timely book examines the role played by regional authorities in the EU in the transition towards renewable energy. Regional governments generally have important decision-making powers concerning energy transition, but they may encounter resistance to the establishment of renewable energy activities in their communities. Drawing on both academia and practice, the expert contributors explore some of the key legal questions that have emerged along the energy transition path. Specific attention is paid to support mechanisms, administrative procedures for authorizing renewable energy projects, including the relevance of procedural rights as set out in the Aarhus Convention, and opportunities for allowing citizens, particularly citizens living near renewable energy projects, participate financially in renewable energy production.

Based on experiences in several Member States (Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands) improvements to the content and application of the law are discussed. The book shows the complexities of renewable energy law, which will most likely become a controversial field of law in the near future. Providing a much-needed contribution to the literature, this is the first book to map legal questions around renewable energy from the perspective of local governments. It will have great appeal to scholars across both law and social sciences, as well as to practitioners in governments, NGOs and law firms.