Meeting in Strasbourg on Wednesday 14 September, MEPs adopted by a large majority (418 votes in favour, 109 against and 111 abstentions) the draft report by Markus Pieper (EPP, German), which in particular provides for an increase - from 32 to 45% - in the EU’s target for the share of renewable energy in the EU’s energy mix by 2030.
The Parliament thus aligns itself with the objective proposed by the European Commission following the Russian invasion of Ukraine (see EUROPE 12955/4).
In this respect, the report remains identical to the text approved by the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) on Wednesday 13 July.
The same applies to the sectoral sub-targets (industry, buildings, transport, heating and cooling), the idea of establishing a strategy for hydrogen imports, or the obligation for each Member State to set up joint projects with one or more other Member States for renewable energy production (see EUROPE 12992/5 and EUROPE 12984/6).
On the other hand, some of the adopted amendments relating to hydrogen and biomass substantially modify the text.
Defining renewable hydrogen
By approving at the last minute Amendment 13 tabled by the EPP group (314 votes in favour, 310 against and 20 abstentions), the European Parliament wishes to amend the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (REDII) to introduce criteria for defining what can be considered as renewable fuel of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) - a category which includes in particular renewable hydrogen - rather than waiting for the Commission’s delegated act foreseen for this purpose.
These criteria therefore aim to ensure that hydrogen labelled as renewable has been produced by an electrolyser powered by electricity from renewable energy sources.
According to the amendment, this would require proof that the electricity withdrawn from the grid to produce the renewable hydrogen was produced exclusively from renewable sources.
In order to provide this proof, fuel producers “should be required to conclude one or more renewable power purchase agreements with installations generating electricity for an amount that is at least equivalent to the amount of electricity that is claimed as fully renewable”, the amendment states.
For the hydrogen produced to be fully considered renewable, “the balance between the renewable electricity purchased through one or several power purchase agreements and the amount of electricity taken from the grid to produce the fuel shall be achieved on a quarterly basis”, the text further states, while introducing conditions relating to the location of the electrolyser.
Biomass
On biomass, the Parliament adopted the joint set of amendments tabled by the Renew Europe, EPP and S&D groups.
As previously detailed in our lines (see EUROPE 13019/2), these amendments provide for the introduction of a cap on the inclusion of energy from primary woody biomass in the renewable energy targets and an end to the subsidisation of such energy.
The share of energy produced from solid fuels derived from primary woody biomass must therefore not exceed “the share of the overall electricity consumption of the average of such fuels in 2017-2022 based on the latest available data”.
The proposed definition of primary woody biomass is also less broad than the one advocated by the Parliament’s Environment Committee (ENVI).
As a direct consequence of the adoption of this set of amendments, MEPs did not accept the Greens/EFA proposal to make the sub-target for the heating and cooling sector binding (as proposed by the Commission).
See the adopted text: https://aeur.eu/f/32r (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)