The provisional political deal that was reached on March 30, 2023, on the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) will raise the share of renewable energy in the EU’s overall energy consumption to 45 percent. Reacting to the announcement, both the European Biogas Association (EBA) and Bioenergy Europe, have welcomed the outcome of the trilogue negotiations albeit with caveats.
EU legislators agreed on the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive, including provisions specific to the bioenergy sector.
The new overall binding target of 42.5 percent renewables by 2030 with an additional 2.5 percent indicative top-up shows a strong ambition to reach 45 percent of renewables in the EU – the current RED, in force since December 2018, proposes a 32 percent share of renewable energy in the total EU energy consumption by 2030.
Once the new proposal enters into force, Member States will need to define their specific contribution to the higher target.
Biogas and biomethane can deliver
According to the European Biogas Association (EBA), biogas and biomethane (aka renewable natural gas – RNG) will deliver sustainable and flexible solutions to buildings, power, and transport sectors, and EBA also supports the Commission’s plan to monitor workforce demand and supply and to facilitate the set-up of training programs.
The biogas and biomethane sector today provides more than 220 000 jobs and could provide 420 000 and 1 million jobs, by 2030 and 2050 respectively.
If the measures on accelerated permitting procedures for renewable energy projects, proposed in the directive, are accompanied by improved administrative capacity at the Member State level, this will help deliver the 35 bcm biomethane target by 2030.
However, EBA points out that clarity, legal certainty, and long-term perspective remain necessary conditions for a favourable business environment.
The retroactive application of the GHG emissions savings criteria, mentioned in the agreed proposal, will result in exaggerated cost compliance for market operators and risk eroding investors’ confidence at a time when a prompt scale-up is of the utmost importance.
The outcome of the trilogue negotiations is also welcomed by bioenergy stakeholders, as it “reaffirms trust in bioenergy and guarantees stability for the sector overall.”
We applaud EU negotiators who avoided controversial approaches that would have jeopardized a large part of the sustainable biomass supply, said Bioenergy Europe in a statement.
All available renewable solutions are needed to ensure that the EU net-zero target can be achieved by 2050 – the recognition that bioenergy remains 100 percent renewable is a key step forward in that direction.
The provisional agreement rejected the conceptually flawed definition of primary woody biomass (PWB) and introduced new provisions to ensure the economically and environmentally sound use of high-quality wood.
The outcome of the negotiations shows that an emotionally driven debate, which was not based on facts, had no chance against common sense, holistic and evidence-based approach which policymakers have decided to trust, commented Bioenergy Europe’s Secretary General Jean-Marc Jossart.
However, Bioenergy Europe says that it regrets to see that local conditions were not duly considered when determining if support can be provided for biopower installations and certain feedstocks, as well as the fact that the threshold for the
sustainability criteria have been lowered to 7.5 MW.
Bioenergy is by far the most important renewable solution that substitutes fossil fuels in the heating and transport sectors.
The overcomplication of certain provisions will result in an additional burden, especially for smaller operators.
The risk remains that it will still be business as usual by using fossil fuels.
We can only achieve our collective climate goals by agreeing that fossil fuels have no future and need to be phased out. In their place, all renewable and sustainable solutions need to receive the required support to be further deployed across the EU as fast as possible, added Christoph Pfemeter, President of Bioenergy Europe.
