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The European Commission
has adopted a report on sustainability requirements for the
use of solid biomass and biogas in electricity, heating and
cooling.
The report makes recommendations
on sustainability criteria to be used by those Member States
that wish to introduce a scheme at national level, in order
to avoid obstacles for the functioning of the internal market
for biomass.
Günther Oettinger, Commissioner
responsible for Energy, said - "Biomass
is one of the most important resources for reaching our renewable
energy targets. It already contributes
more than half of renewable energy consumption in the EU -
providing a clean, secure and competitive energy resource.
"With
this report, the Commission provides recommendations to Member
States concerning sustainability criteria for solid biomass
and biogas. A review is foreseen in 18 months in order to
assess whether the scheme needs to be modified, including
through the introduction of some mandatory standards."
The report
is accompanied by an impact assessment which shows that binding
criteria would impose substantial costs on European economic
actors, bearing in mind that at least 90% of biomass
consumed in the EU comes from European forest residues and
byproducts of other industries. Hence, the report concludes
that, at this stage, more detailed legislation is not necessary.
In the absence
of harmonised rules at EU level, Member States are free to
put in place their own national schemes for solid and gaseous
biomass used in electricity, heating and cooling.
The report
provides recommendations for Member
States to follow similar patterns - and, most importantly,
to be guided by the sustainability criteria explained in the
report. In this manner, it will be possible to minimise the
risk of the development of varied and possibly incompatible
criteria at national level, leading to barriers to trade and
limiting the growth of the bio-energy sector.
The recommended
criteria relate to -
- a general prohibition on the use
of biomass from land converted from forest, other high carbon
stock areas and highly biodiverse areas;
- a common greenhouse gas calculation
methodology which could be used to ensure that minimum greenhouse
gas savings from biomass are at least 35% (rising to 50%
in 2017 and 60% in 2018 for new installations) compared
to the EU's fossil energy mix;
- the differentiation of national support
schemes in favour of installations
that achieve high energy conversion efficiencies - and
- monitoring of the origin of biomass.
It is also
recommended not to apply sustainability criteria to wastes
- as these must already fulfill
environmental rules in accordance with waste legislation at
national and at European level - and that the sustainability
requirements should apply to larger energy producers
of 1MW thermal or 1MW electrical capacity or above.
Under the Renewable Energy Directive,
Member States must submit National Renewable Energy Action
Plans in June 2010. These will be a key tool for identifying
the EU's ambitions for exploiting its biomass potentials -
whether in electricity, heating or transport. Following the
submission of these plans and analysis of emerging national
schemes, the Commission will consider - in 2011 - whether
additional measures such as common sustainability criteria
at EU level would be appropriate.
Background
The Renewable Energy Directive, adopted in 2009, sets up sustainability
criteria for biofuels and bioliquids. The Directive provides
that the Commission should report on requirements for a sustainability
scheme for biomass other than biofuels and bioliquids. The
report fulfils this obligation.
To view the report - together with
related information - Click
Here
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