The European Commission’s forthcoming proposal to revise the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (2018/2001) (RED II) will not consist of a complete overhaul of EU renewable energy law, but a series of amendments, according to a draft of the proposal released by media outlets including EUROPE on Wednesday 16 June.
New objectives
A major part of the European Commission’s climate legislation package due to be adopted on 14 July (the ‘Fit for 55’ package), this review should lead to an increase in the EU’s target for renewable energy in gross final energy consumption by 2030 from at least 32% to between 38 and 40%.
While this EU-wide target will be binding, the Commission does not plan to set binding national targets (see EUROPE 12742/12), much to the dismay of environmental NGOs.
Pleading for an EU target for 2030 of “at least 50%”, Veerle Dossche, energy policy coordinator of the NGO CAN Europe, believes that binding national targets are needed to “give all market players certainty, and they can push governments to bolder climate action”.
Transport
According to the Commission’s draft document, the institution should also propose to increase the level of ambition for renewable energy in transport by setting a greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity target, raising the sub-target for advanced biofuels in 2030 (currently set at ‘at least 3.5%’) and introducing a sub-target for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFONBOs).
Although the text does not detail the percentages that the Commission intends to set for these different targets, it nevertheless specifies that “energy from RFONBOs can only be counted towards the targets set in this Directive if its GHG emissions savings are at least 70%”.
Heating and cooling
For the heating and cooling sector, the EU institution plans not only to increase the annual growth target for the share of renewable energy in this sector (the current target is an average increase of 1.3% per year), but also to make it binding.
It also wants to review the target share (currently set at ‘at least 1%’) of annual increases in energy from renewable sources and recovered heat and cooling in district heating and cooling networks. Again, the text does not detail the percentages that the Commission intends to set.
If the draft document is confirmed, Member States will also have to “ensure the accessibility of measures to all consumers, in particular those in low-income or vulnerable households”. This is a strengthening of the current text of the Directive which contains the wording “aim to ensure”.
The document also removes the list of specific types of renewable heating technologies and replaces it with a generic reference to RES (renewable energy source) heating systems.
Industry
Another new feature is the addition of an article on industry with an indicative (unspecified) target for the annual increase of renewables in this sector, as well as a binding target for RFNBOs used as feedstock or energy carrier.
This article also introduces a methodology for the labelling of green industrial products.
Biomass
The Commission also intends to strengthen the current sustainability criteria by applying the existing criteria for agricultural biomass to forest biomass.
"Those strengthened criteria are applied to small-scale biomass-based heat and power installations below a total rated thermal capacity of 5 MW [compared to 20 MW currently]”, the document also states.
In addition, the existing GHG reduction thresholds for the production of electricity, heating, and cooling from biomass fuels would apply to existing installations (not just new installations).
New definitions
The document modifies the definition of RFONBOs to extend it beyond the transport sector.
It also adds new definitions, in particular that of renewable fuels as “biofuels, bioliquids, biomass fuels, and renewable fuels of non-biological origin”.
However, the text does not include a definition of low-carbon fuels or low-carbon hydrogen, although these two terms are specifically mentioned in the foreword.
While some MEPs and environmental NGOs are insisting that so-called ‘low-carbon’ gases should be excluded from the scope of the review, EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson recently gave assurances that the ‘RED II’ directive would remain reserved for renewables (see EUROPE 12728/4).
Calculation method
The Commission also wants to review the method of calculating the share of renewables in the EU energy mix so that: (1) energy produced from RFONBOs is accounted for in the sector in which it is consumed (electricity, heating and cooling, or transport); (2) renewable electricity used to produce RFONBOs is not included in the calculation of gross final consumption of electricity produced from renewable sources in the Member State.
Guarantee of origin
In order to facilitate the integration of renewable electricity systems, the text strengthens the provisions on power purchase agreements by providing that any guarantee of origin can be transferred to the renewable energy purchaser as part of the renewable electricity purchase agreement.
In addition, transmission system operators (TSOs) and distribution system operators (DSOs) would be required to make available information on the share of renewable energy sources and, where possible, the GHG content of the electricity they supply.
Principle of “additionality”
The draft document also includes a new article on the principle of “additionality”.
It states that when designing a regulatory framework for the deployment of renewable electricity, Member States should take into account the additional renewable electricity needed to meet demand in the transport, industry, buildings, and heating and cooling sectors, as well as for the production of RFONBOs.
Other news
It should also be noted that the text introduces a credit mechanism to promote electromobility. Under this, suppliers of renewable electricity for electric vehicles (via public charging stations) would receive credits that they can sell to fuel suppliers, who can then use these credits to “to satisfy the fuel supplier obligation” for renewables.
Another new feature is the addition of an obligation for Member States to set up at least one cross-border renewable energy pilot project within 3 years of the entry into force of the revised directive.
In addition, Member States will have to jointly define the amount of offshore renewable energy production to be deployed in each sea basin by 2050, with intermediate steps in 2030 and 2040, says the draft text.
See the European Commission’s draft document: https://bit.ly/3wvpN7e (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)