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Document 02018L2001-20240716
Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (recast) (Text with EEA relevance)
Consolidated text: Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (recast) (Text with EEA relevance)
Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (recast) (Text with EEA relevance)
02018L2001 — EN — 16.07.2024 — 004.001
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DIRECTIVE (EU) 2018/2001 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (recast) (OJ L 328 21.12.2018, p. 82) |
Amended by:
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Official Journal |
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No |
page |
date |
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COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2022/759 of 14 December 2021 |
L 139 |
1 |
18.5.2022 |
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DIRECTIVE (EU) 2023/2413 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 18 October 2023 |
L 2413 |
1 |
31.10.2023 |
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COMMISSION DELEGATED DIRECTIVE (EU) 2024/1405 of 14 March 2024 |
L 1405 |
1 |
17.5.2024 |
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DIRECTIVE (EU) 2024/1711 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 13 June 2024 |
L 1711 |
1 |
26.6.2024 |
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Corrected by:
DIRECTIVE (EU) 2018/2001 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 11 December 2018
on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources
(recast)
(Text with EEA relevance)
Article 1
Subject matter
This Directive establishes a common framework for the promotion of energy from renewable sources. It sets a binding Union target for the overall share of energy from renewable sources in the Union's gross final consumption of energy in 2030. It also lays down rules on financial support for electricity from renewable sources, on self-consumption of such electricity, on the use of energy from renewable sources in the heating and cooling sector and in the transport sector, on regional cooperation between Member States, and between Member States and third countries, on guarantees of origin, on administrative procedures and on information and training. It also establishes sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria for biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels.
Article 2
Definitions
For the purposes of this Directive, the relevant definitions in Directive 2009/72/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 1 ) apply.
The following definitions also apply:
‘energy from renewable sources’ or ‘renewable energy’ means energy from renewable non-fossil sources, namely wind, solar (solar thermal and solar photovoltaic) and geothermal energy, osmotic energy, ambient energy, tide, wave and other ocean energy, hydropower, biomass, landfill gas, sewage treatment plant gas, and biogas;
‘industrial grade roundwood’ means saw logs, veneer logs, round or split pulpwood, as well as all other roundwood that is suitable for industrial purposes, excluding roundwood the characteristics of which, such as species, dimensions, rectitude and node density, make it unsuitable for industrial use as defined and duly justified by Member States according to the relevant forest and market conditions;
‘ambient energy’ means naturally occurring thermal energy and energy accumulated in the environment with constrained boundaries, which can be stored in the ambient air, excluding in exhaust air, or in surface or sewage water;
‘geothermal energy’ means energy stored in the form of heat beneath the surface of solid earth;
‘gross final consumption of energy’ means the energy commodities delivered for energy purposes to industry, transport, households, services including public services, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, the consumption of electricity and heat by the energy branch for electricity and heat production, and losses of electricity and heat in distribution and transmission;
‘support scheme’ means any instrument, scheme or mechanism applied by a Member State, or a group of Member States, that promotes the use of energy from renewable sources by reducing the cost of that energy, increasing the price at which it can be sold, or increasing, by means of a renewable energy obligation or otherwise, the volume of such energy purchased, including but not restricted to, investment aid, tax exemptions or reductions, tax refunds, renewable energy obligation support schemes including those using green certificates, and direct price support schemes including feed-in tariffs and sliding or fixed premium payments;
‘renewable energy obligation’ means a support scheme requiring energy producers to include a given share of energy from renewable sources in their production, requiring energy suppliers to include a given share of energy from renewable sources in their supply, or requiring energy consumers to include a given share of energy from renewable sources in their consumption, including schemes under which such requirements may be fulfilled by using green certificates;
‘financial instrument’ means a financial instrument as defined in point (29) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 2 );
‘SME’ means a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise as defined in Article 2 of the Annex to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC ( 3 );
‘waste heat and cold’ means unavoidable heat or cold generated as by-product in industrial or power generation installations, or in the tertiary sector, which would be dissipated unused in air or water without access to a district heating or cooling system, where a cogeneration process has been used or will be used or where cogeneration is not feasible;
‘renewables acceleration area’ means a specific location or area, whether on land, sea or inland waters, which a Member State designated as particularly suitable for the installation of renewable energy plants;
‘solar energy equipment’ means equipment that converts energy from the sun into thermal or electrical energy, in particular solar thermal and solar photovoltaic equipment;
‘repowering’ means renewing power plants that produce renewable energy, including the full or partial replacement of installations or operation systems and equipment for the purposes of replacing capacity or increasing the efficiency or capacity of the installation;
‘distribution system operator’ means an operator as defined in point (6) of Article 2 of Directive 2009/72/EC and in point (6) of Article 2 of Directive 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 4 );
‘guarantee of origin’ means an electronic document which has the sole function of providing evidence to a final customer that a given share or quantity of energy was produced from renewable sources;
‘residual energy mix’ means the total annual energy mix for a Member State, excluding the share covered by cancelled guarantees of origin;
‘renewables self-consumer’ means a final customer operating within its premises located within confined boundaries or, where permitted by a Member State, within other premises, who generates renewable electricity for its own consumption, and who may store or sell self-generated renewable electricity, provided that, for a non-household renewables self-consumer, those activities do not constitute its primary commercial or professional activity;
‘bidding zone’ means a bidding zone as defined in Article 2, point (65), of Regulation (EU) 2019/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 5 );
‘innovative renewable energy technology’ means renewable energy generation technology that improves, in at least one way, comparable state-of-the-art renewable energy technology or that renders renewable energy technology that is not fully commercialised or that involves a clear degree of risk exploitable;
‘smart metering system’ means a smart metering system as defined in Article 2, point (23), of Directive (EU) 2019/944 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 6 );
‘recharging point’ means a recharging point as defined in Article 2, point (48), of Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 7 );
‘market participant’ means a market participant as defined in Article 2, point (25), of Regulation (EU) 2019/943;
‘electricity market’ means electricity markets as defined in Article 2, point (9), of Directive (EU) 2019/944;
‘domestic battery’ means a stand-alone rechargeable battery of rated capacity greater than 2 kwh, which is suitable for installation and use in a domestic environment;
‘electric vehicle battery’ means an electric vehicle battery as defined in Article 3(1), point (14), of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 8 );
‘industrial battery’ means an industrial battery as defined in Article 3(1), point (13), of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542;
‘state of health’ means state of health as defined in Article 3(1), point (28), of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542;
‘state of charge’ means state of charge as defined in Article 3(1), point (27), of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542;
‘power set point’ means the dynamic information held in a battery’s management system prescribing the electric power settings at which the battery should optimally operate during a recharging or a discharging operation, so that its state of health and operational use are optimised;
‘smart recharging’ means a recharging operation in which the intensity of electricity delivered to the battery is adjusted dynamically, on the basis of information received through electronic communication;
‘regulatory authority’ means a regulatory authority as defined in Article 2, point (2), of Regulation (EU) 2019/943;
‘bi-directional recharging’ means bi-directional recharging as defined in Article 2, point (11), of Regulation (EU) 2023/1804;
‘normal power recharging point’ means a normal power recharging point as defined in Article 2, point (37), of Regulation (EU) 2023/1804;
‘renewable energy purchase agreement’ means a contract under which a natural or legal person agrees to purchase renewable energy directly from a producer, which encompasses, but is not limited to, renewables power purchase agreements and renewables heating and cooling purchase agreements;
‘jointly acting renewables self-consumers’ means a group of at least two jointly acting renewables self-consumers in accordance with point (14) who are located in the same building or multi-apartment block;
‘renewable energy community’ means a legal entity:
which, in accordance with the applicable national law, is based on open and voluntary participation, is autonomous, and is effectively controlled by shareholders or members that are located in the proximity of the renewable energy projects that are owned and developed by that legal entity;
the shareholders or members of which are natural persons, SMEs or local authorities, including municipalities;
the primary purpose of which is to provide environmental, economic or social community benefits for its shareholders or members or for the local areas where it operates, rather than financial profits;
‘renewables power purchase agreement’ means a contract under which a natural or legal person agrees to purchase renewable electricity directly from an electricity producer;
‘peer-to-peer trading’ of renewable energy means the sale of renewable energy between market participants by means of a contract with pre-determined conditions governing the automated execution and settlement of the transaction, either directly between market participants or indirectly through a certified third-party market participant, such as an aggregator. The right to conduct peer-to-peer trading shall be without prejudice to the rights and obligations of the parties involved as final customers, producers, suppliers or aggregators;
‘industry’ means undertakings and products that fall under sections B, C, and F and under section J, division (63) of the statistical classification of economic activities (NACE REV.2), as set out in Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 9 );
‘non-energy purpose’ means the use of fuels as raw materials in an industrial process, rather than to produce energy;
‘district heating’ or ‘district cooling’ means the distribution of thermal energy in the form of steam, hot water or chilled liquids, from central or decentralised sources of production through a network to multiple buildings or sites, for the use of space or process heating or cooling;
‘efficient district heating and cooling’ means efficient district heating and cooling as defined in point (41) of Article 2 of Directive 2012/27/EU;
‘high-efficiency cogeneration’ means high-efficiency cogeneration as defined in point (34) of Article 2 of Directive 2012/27/EU;
‘energy performance certificate’ means energy performance certificate as defined in point (12) of Article 2 of Directive 2010/31/EU;
‘renewable fuels’ means biofuels, bioliquids, biomass fuels and renewable fuels of non-biological origin;
‘energy efficiency first’ means energy efficiency first as defined in Article 2, point (18), of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999;
‘waste’ means waste as defined in point (1) of Article 3 of Directive 2008/98/EC, excluding substances that have been intentionally modified or contaminated in order to meet this definition;
‘biomass’ means the biodegradable fraction of products, waste and residues from biological origin from agriculture, including vegetal and animal substances, from forestry and related industries, including fisheries and aquaculture, as well as the biodegradable fraction of waste, including industrial and municipal waste of biological origin;
‘agricultural biomass’ means biomass produced from agriculture;
‘forest biomass’ means biomass produced from forestry;
‘biomass fuels’ means gaseous and solid fuels produced from biomass;
‘biogas’ means gaseous fuels produced from biomass;
‘biowaste’ means biowaste as defined in point (4) of Article 3 of Directive 2008/98/EC;
‘sourcing area’ means the geographically defined area from which the forest biomass feedstock is sourced, from which reliable and independent information is available and where conditions are sufficiently homogeneous to evaluate the risk of the sustainability and legality characteristics of the forest biomass;
‘forest regeneration’ means the re-establishment of a forest stand by natural or artificial means following the removal of the previous stand by felling or as a result of natural causes, including fire or storm;
‘bioliquids’ means liquid fuel for energy purposes other than for transport, including electricity and heating and cooling, produced from biomass;
‘biofuels’ means liquid fuel for transport produced from biomass;
‘advanced biofuels’ means biofuels that are produced from the feedstock listed in Part A of Annex IX;
‘recycled carbon fuels’ means liquid and gaseous fuels that are produced from liquid or solid waste streams of non-renewable origin which are not suitable for material recovery in accordance with Article 4 of Directive 2008/98/EC, or from waste processing gas and exhaust gas of non-renewable origin which are produced as an unavoidable and unintentional consequence of the production process in industrial installations;
‘renewable fuels of non-biological origin’ means liquid and gaseous fuels the energy content of which is derived from renewable sources other than biomass;
‘low indirect land-use change-risk biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels’ means biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels, the feedstock of which was produced within schemes which avoid displacement effects of food and feed-crop based biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels through improved agricultural practices as well as through the cultivation of crops on areas which were previously not used for cultivation of crops, and which were produced in accordance with the sustainability criteria for biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels laid down in Article 29;
‘fuel supplier’ means an entity supplying fuel to the market that is responsible for passing fuel through an excise duty point or, in the case of electricity or where no excise is due or where duly justified, any other relevant entity designated by a Member State;
‘starch-rich crops’ means crops comprising mainly cereals, regardless of whether the grains alone or the whole plant, such as in the case of green maize, are used; tubers and root crops, such as potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, sweet potatoes, cassava and yams; and corm crops, such as taro and cocoyam;
‘food and feed crops’ means starch-rich crops, sugar crops or oil crops produced on agricultural land as a main crop excluding residues, waste or ligno-cellulosic material and intermediate crops, such as catch crops and cover crops, provided that the use of such intermediate crops does not trigger demand for additional land;
‘ligno-cellulosic material’ means material composed of lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose, such as biomass sourced from forests, woody energy crops and forest-based industries' residues and wastes;
‘non-food cellulosic material’ means feedstock mainly composed of cellulose and hemicellulose, and having a lower lignin content than ligno-cellulosic material, including food and feed crop residues, such as straw, stover, husks and shells; grassy energy crops with a low starch content, such as ryegrass, switchgrass, miscanthus, giant cane; cover crops before and after main crops; ley crops; industrial residues, including from food and feed crops after vegetal oils, sugars, starches and protein have been extracted; and material from biowaste, where ley and cover crops are understood to be temporary, short-term sown pastures comprising grass-legume mixture with a low starch content to obtain fodder for livestock and improve soil fertility for obtaining higher yields of arable main crops;
‘residue’ means a substance that is not the end product(s) that a production process directly seeks to produce; it is not a primary aim of the production process and the process has not been deliberately modified to produce it;
‘agricultural, aquaculture, fisheries and forestry residues’ means residues that are directly generated by agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries and forestry and that do not include residues from related industries or processing;
‘plantation forest’ means a plantation forest as defined in Article 2, point (11), of Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 10 );
‘osmotic energy’ means energy created from the difference in salt concentration between two fluids, such as fresh water and salt water;
‘system efficiency’ means the selection of energy-efficient solutions where they also enable a cost-effective decarbonisation pathway, additional flexibility and the efficient use of resources;
‘co-located energy storage’ means an energy storage facility combined with a facility producing renewable energy and connected to the same grid access point;
‘solar-electric vehicle’ means a motor vehicle equipped with a powertrain containing only non-peripheral electric machines as energy converter, with an electric rechargeable energy storage system which can be recharged externally, and with vehicle-integrated photovoltaic panels;
‘actual value’ means the greenhouse gas emissions savings for some or all of the steps of a specific biofuel, bioliquid or biomass fuel production process, calculated in accordance with the methodology laid down in Part C of Annex V or Part B of Annex VI;
‘typical value’ means an estimate of the greenhouse gas emissions and greenhouse gas emissions savings for a particular biofuel, bioliquid or biomass fuel production pathway, which is representative of the Union consumption;
‘default value’ means a value derived from a typical value by the application of pre-determined factors and that may, in circumstances specified in this Directive, be used in place of an actual value.
Article 3
Binding overall Union target for 2030
Member States shall collectively endeavour to increase the share of energy from renewable sources in the Union’s gross final consumption of energy in 2030 to 45 %.
Member States shall set an indicative target for innovative renewable energy technology of at least 5 % of newly installed renewable energy capacity by 2030.
If, on the basis of the assessment of the draft integrated national energy and climate plans submitted pursuant to Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999, the Commission concludes that the national contributions of the Member States are insufficient for the collective achievement of the binding overall Union target, it shall follow the procedure laid down in Articles 9 and 31 of that Regulation.
Member States shall design support schemes for energy from biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels in such a way as to avoid incentivising unsustainable pathways and distorting competition with the material sectors, with a view to ensuring that woody biomass is used according to its highest economic and environmental added value in the following order of priorities:
wood-based products;
extending the service life of wood-based products;
re-use;
recycling;
bioenergy; and
disposal.
Member States may derogate from the principle of the cascading use of biomass referred to in paragraph 3 where needed to ensure security of energy supply. Member States may also derogate from that principle where the local industry is quantitatively or technically unable to use forest biomass for an economic and environmental added value that is higher than energy production, for feedstocks coming from:
necessary forest management activities, aiming to ensure pre-commercial thinning operations or carried out in accordance with national law on wildfire prevention in high-risk areas;
salvage logging following documented natural disturbances; or
the harvest of certain woods whose characteristics are not suitable for local processing facilities.
Member States shall not grant direct financial support for:
the use of saw logs, veneer logs, industrial grade roundwood, stumps and roots to produce energy;
the production of renewable energy from the incineration of waste, unless the separate collection obligations laid down in Directive 2008/98/EC have been complied with.
Without prejudice to paragraph 3, Member States shall not grant new support or renew any support for the production of electricity from forest biomass in electricity-only installations, unless such electricity meets at least one of the following conditions:
it is produced in a region identified in a territorial just transition plan established in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1056 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 11 ) due to its reliance on solid fossil fuels, and it meets the relevant requirements set out in Article 29(11) of this Directive;
it is produced applying biomass CO2 capture and storage and it meets the requirements set out in Article 29(11), second subparagraph;
it is produced in an outermost region as referred to in Article 349 TFEU, for a limited period and with the objective of phasing down, to the greatest extent possible, the use of forest biomass without affecting access to safe and secure energy.
By 2027, the Commission shall publish a report on the impact of the Member States’ support schemes for biomass, including on biodiversity, on the climate and the environment, and on possible market distortions, and shall assess the possibility for further limitations regarding support schemes for forest biomass.
The Commission shall support the high ambition of Member States through an enabling framework comprising the enhanced use of Union funds, including additional funds to facilitate a just transition of carbon intensive regions towards increased shares of renewable energy, in particular financial instruments, especially for the following purposes:
reducing the cost of capital for renewable energy projects;
developing projects and programmes for integrating renewable sources into the energy system, for increasing flexibility of the energy system, for maintaining grid stability and for managing grid congestions;
developing transmission and distribution grid infrastructure, intelligent networks, storage facilities and interconnections, with the objective of arriving at a 15 % electricity interconnection target by 2030, in order to increase the technically feasible and economically affordable level of renewable energy in the electricity system;
enhancing regional cooperation between Member States and between Member States and third countries, through joint projects, joint support schemes and the opening of support schemes for renewable electricity to producers located in other Member States.
Article 4
Support schemes for energy from renewable sources
To that end, with regard to direct price support schemes, support shall be granted in the form of a market premium, which could be, inter alia, sliding or fixed.
The second subparagraph of this paragraph shall not apply to support for electricity from the sources listed in Article 19d(4) of Regulation (EU) 2019/943, to which Article 19d(1) of that Regulation applies.
Member States may exempt small-scale installations and demonstration projects from this paragraph, without prejudice to the applicable Union law on the internal market for electricity.
Member States may exempt small-scale installations and demonstration projects from tendering procedures.
Member States may also consider establishing mechanisms to ensure the regional diversification in the deployment of renewable electricity, in particular to ensure cost-efficient system integration.
Member States may limit tendering procedures to specific technologies where opening support schemes to all producers of electricity from renewable sources would lead to a suboptimal result, in view of:
the long-term potential of a particular technology;
the need to achieve diversification;
grid integration costs;
network constraints and grid stability;
for biomass, the need to avoid distortions of raw materials markets.
Where support for electricity from renewable sources is granted by means of a tendering procedure, Member States shall, in order to ensure a high project realisation rate:
establish and publish non-discriminatory and transparent criteria to qualify for the tendering procedure and set clear dates and rules for delivery of the project;
publish information about previous tendering procedures, including project realisation rates.
By 31 December 2021 and every three years thereafter, the Commission shall report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the performance of support for electricity from renewable sources granted by means of tendering procedures in the Union, analysing in particular the ability of tendering procedures to:
achieve cost-reduction;
achieve technological improvement;
achieve high realisation rates;
provide non-discriminatory participation of small actors and, where applicable, local authorities;
limit environmental impact;
ensure local acceptability;
ensure security of supply and grid integration.
Article 5
Opening of support schemes for electricity from renewable sources
When opening participation in support schemes for electricity from renewable sources, Member States may provide that support for an indicative share of the newly-supported capacity, or of the budget allocated thereto, in each year is open to producers located in other Member States.
Such indicative shares may, in each year, amount to at least 5 % from 2023 to 2026 and at least 10 % from 2027 to 2030, or, where lower, to the level of interconnectivity of the Member State concerned in any given year.
In order to acquire further implementation experience, Member States may organise one or more pilot schemes where support is open to producers located in other Member States.
Article 6
Stability of financial support
Article 7
Calculation of the share of energy from renewable sources
The gross final consumption of energy from renewable sources in each Member State shall be calculated as the sum of:
gross final consumption of electricity from renewable sources;
gross final consumption of energy from renewable sources in the heating and cooling sector; and
final consumption of energy from renewable sources in the transport sector.
With regard to the first subparagraph, point (a), (b), or (c), gas and electricity from renewable sources shall be considered only once for the purposes of calculating the share of gross final consumption of energy from renewable sources.
Energy produced from renewable fuels of non-biological origin shall be counted in the sector – electricity, heating and cooling, or transport – where it is consumed.
Without prejudice to the third subparagraph, Member States may agree, via a specific cooperation agreement, to count all or part of the renewable fuels of non-biological origin consumed in one Member State towards the share of gross final consumption of energy from renewable sources in the Member State where those fuels are produced. In order to monitor whether the same renewable fuels of non-biological origin are not counted in both the Member State where they are produced and in the Member State where they are consumed and in order to record the amount counted, Member States shall notify the Commission of any such cooperation agreement. Such a cooperation agreement shall include the amount of renewable fuels of non-biological origin to be counted in total and for each Member State and the date on which the cooperation agreement is to become operational.
Subject to the second subparagraph of Article 29(1), biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels that do not fulfil the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria laid down in Article 29(2) to (7) and (10) shall not be taken into account.
In multi-fuel plants using renewable and non-renewable sources, only the part of electricity produced from renewable sources shall be taken into account. For the purposes of that calculation, the contribution of each energy source shall be calculated on the basis of its energy content.
The electricity generated by hydropower and wind power shall be accounted for in accordance with the normalisation rules set out in Annex II.
In multi-fuel plants using renewable and non-renewable sources, only the part of heating and cooling produced from renewable sources shall be taken into account. For the purposes of that calculation, the contribution of each energy source shall be calculated on the basis of its energy content.
Ambient and geothermal energy used for heating and cooling by means of heat pumps and district cooling systems shall be taken into account for the purposes of point (b) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1, provided that the final energy output significantly exceeds the primary energy input required to drive the heat pumps. The quantity of heat or cold to be considered to be energy from renewable sources for the purposes of this Directive shall be calculated in accordance with the methodology set out in Annex VII and shall take into account energy use in all end-use sectors.
Thermal energy generated by passive energy systems, under which lower energy consumption is achieved passively through building design or from heat generated by energy from non-renewable sources, shall not be taken into account for the purposes of point (b) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1.
By 31 December 2021, the Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 35 to supplement this Directive by establishing a methodology for calculating the quantity of renewable energy used for cooling and district cooling and to amend Annex VII.
That methodology shall include minimum seasonal performance factors for heat pumps operating in reverse mode.
For the purposes of point (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1, the following requirements shall apply:
Final consumption of energy from renewable sources in the transport sector shall be calculated as the sum of all biofuels, biogas and renewable fuels of non-biological origin consumed in the transport sector. That shall include renewable fuels supplied to international marine bunkers.
For the calculation of final consumption of energy in the transport sector, the values regarding the energy content of transport fuels, as set out in Annex III, shall be used. For the determination of the energy content of transport fuels not included in Annex III, Member States shall use the relevant European Standards Organisation (ESO) standards in order to determine the calorific values of fuels. Where no ESO standard has been adopted for that purpose, Member States shall use the relevant International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) standards.
For the purposes of the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the sum referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be adjusted in accordance with Articles 8, 10, 12 and 13.
In calculating a Member State's gross final consumption of energy for the purposes of measuring its compliance with the targets and indicative trajectory laid down in this Directive, the amount of energy consumed in aviation shall, as a proportion of that Member State's gross final consumption of energy, be considered to be no more than 6,18 %. For Cyprus and Malta the amount of energy consumed in aviation shall, as a proportion of those Member States' gross final consumption of energy, be considered to be no more than 4,12 %.
Member States shall ensure coherence of the statistical information used in calculating those sectoral and overall shares and of the statistical information reported to the Commission pursuant to that Regulation.
Article 8
Union renewable development platform and statistical transfers between Member States
Member States may agree on the statistical transfer of a specified amount of energy from renewable sources from one Member State to another Member State. The transferred quantity shall be:
deducted from the amount of energy from renewable sources that is taken into account in calculating the renewable energy share of the Member State making the transfer for the purposes of this Directive; and
added to the amount of energy from renewable sources that is taken into account in calculating the renewable energy share of the Member State accepting the transfer for the purposes of this Directive.
The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 35 to supplement this Directive by establishing the URDP and setting the conditions for the finalisation of transfers as referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article.
Article 9
Joint projects between Member States
By 31 December 2025, each Member State shall agree to establish a framework for cooperation on joint projects with one or more other Member States for the production of renewable energy, subject to the following:
by 31 December 2030, Member States shall endeavour to agree on establishing at least two joint projects;
by 31 December 2033, Member States with an annual electricity consumption of more than 100 TWh shall endeavour to agree on establishing a third joint project.
The identification of joint offshore renewable energy projects shall be consistent with the needs identified in the high-level strategic integrated offshore network development plans for each sea-basin referred to in Article 14(2) of Regulation (EU) 2022/869 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 12 ) and the Union-wide ten-year network development plan referred to in Article 30(1), point (b), of Regulation (EU) 2019/943, but may go beyond those needs and may involve local and regional authorities and private undertakings.
Member States shall work towards a fair distribution of the costs and benefits of joint projects. To that end, Member States shall take into account all the relevant costs and benefits of the joint project in the relevant cooperation agreement.
Member States shall notify the Commission of cooperation agreements, including the date on which the joint projects are expected to become operational. Projects financed by national contributions under the Union renewable energy financing mechanism established by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1294 ( 13 ) shall be deemed to satisfy the obligations referred to in the first subparagraph for the Member States involved.
The notification referred to in paragraph 2 shall:
describe the proposed installation or identify the refurbished installation;
specify the proportion or amount of electricity or heating or cooling produced from the installation which is to be regarded as counting towards the renewable energy share of the other Member State;
identify the Member State in whose favour the notification is being made; and
specify the period, in whole calendar years, during which the electricity or heating or cooling produced by the installation from renewable sources is to be regarded as counting towards the renewable energy share of the other Member State.
Article 10
Effects of joint projects between Member States
Within three months of the end of each year falling within the period referred to in point (d) of Article 9(3), the Member State that made the notification under Article 9 shall issue a letter of notification stating:
the total amount of electricity or heating or cooling produced from renewable sources during that year by the installation which was the subject of the notification under Article 9; and
the amount of electricity or heating or cooling produced from renewable sources during that year by that installation which is to count towards the renewable energy share of another Member State in accordance with the terms of the notification.
For the purposes of this Directive, the amount of electricity or heating or cooling from renewable sources notified in accordance with point (b) of paragraph 1 shall be:
deducted from the amount of electricity or heating or cooling from renewable sources that is taken into account in calculating the renewable energy share of the Member State issuing the letter of notification pursuant to paragraph 1; and
added to the amount of electricity or heating or cooling from renewable sources that is taken into account in calculating the renewable energy share of the Member State receiving the letter of notification pursuant to paragraph 2.
Article 11
Joint projects between Member States and third countries
Electricity from renewable sources produced in a third country shall be taken into account for the purposes of calculating the renewable energy shares of the Member States only where the following conditions are met:
the electricity is consumed in the Union, which is deemed to be met where:
an equivalent amount of electricity to the electricity accounted for has been firmly nominated to the allocated interconnection capacity by all responsible transmission system operators in the country of origin, the country of destination and, if relevant, each third country of transit;
an equivalent amount of electricity to the electricity accounted for has been firmly registered in the schedule of balance by the responsible transmission system operator on the Union side of an interconnector; and
the nominated capacity and the production of electricity from renewable sources by the installation referred to in point (b) refer to the same period of time;
the electricity is produced by an installation that became operational after 25 June 2009 or by the increased capacity of an installation that was refurbished after that date, under a joint project as referred to in paragraph 1;
the amount of electricity produced and exported has not received support from a support scheme of a third country other than investment aid granted to the installation; and
the electricity has been produced in accordance with international law, in a third country that is a signatory to the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, or other international conventions or treaties on human rights.
For the purposes of paragraph 4, Member States may apply to the Commission for account to be taken of electricity from renewable sources produced and consumed in a third country, in the context of the construction of an interconnector with a very long lead-time between a Member State and a third country where the following conditions are met:
construction of the interconnector started by 31 December 2026;
it is not possible for the interconnector to become operational by 31 December 2030;
it is possible for the interconnector to become operational by 31 December 2032;
after it becomes operational, the interconnector will be used for the export to the Union, in accordance with paragraph 2, of electricity from renewable sources;
the application relates to a joint project that fulfils the criteria set out in points (b) and (c) of paragraph 2 and that will use the interconnector after it becomes operational, and to a quantity of electricity that is no greater than the quantity that will be exported to the Union after the interconnector becomes operational.
The notification referred to in paragraph 4 shall:
describe the proposed installation or identify the refurbished installation;
specify the proportion or amount of electricity produced from the installation which is to be regarded as counting towards the renewable energy share of a Member State as well as, subject to confidentiality requirements, the corresponding financial arrangements;
specify the period, in whole calendar years, during which the electricity is to be regarded as counting towards the renewable energy share of the Member State; and
include a written acknowledgement of points (b) and (c) by the third country in whose territory the installation is to become operational and an indication of the proportion or amount of electricity produced by the installation which will be used domestically by that third country.
Article 12
Effects of joint projects between Member States and third countries
Within 12 months of the end of each year falling within the period specified under point (c) of Article 11(5), the notifying Member State shall issue a letter of notification stating:
the total amount of electricity produced from renewable sources during that year by the installation which was the subject of the notification under Article 11;
the amount of electricity produced from renewable sources during that year by that installation which is to count towards its renewable energy share in accordance with the terms of the notification under Article 11; and
evidence of compliance with the conditions laid down in Article 11(2).
Article 13
Joint support schemes
Without prejudice to the obligations of Member States under Article 5, two or more Member States may decide, on a voluntary basis, to join or partly coordinate their national support schemes. In such cases, a certain amount of energy from renewable sources produced in the territory of one participating Member State may count towards the renewable energy share of another participating Member State, provided that the Member States concerned:
make a statistical transfer of specified amounts of energy from renewable sources from one Member State to another Member State in accordance with Article 8; or
set up a distribution rule agreed by participating Member States that allocates amounts of energy from renewable sources between the participating Member States.
A distribution rule as referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph shall be notified to the Commission not later than three months after the end of the first year in which it takes effect.
Article 14
Capacity increases
For the purposes of Article 9(2) and point (b) of Article 11(2), units of energy from renewable sources imputable to an increase in the capacity of an installation shall be treated as if they were produced by a separate installation becoming operational at the moment at which the increase of capacity occurred.
Article 15
Administrative procedures, regulations and codes
Member States shall, in particular, take the appropriate steps to ensure that:
administrative procedures are streamlined and expedited at the appropriate administrative level and predictable timeframes are established for the procedures referred to in the first subparagraph;
rules concerning authorisation, certification and licensing are objective, transparent and proportionate, do not discriminate between applicants and take fully into account the particularities of individual renewable energy technologies;
administrative charges paid by consumers, planners, architects, builders and equipment and system installers and suppliers are transparent and cost-related; and
simplified and less burdensome authorisation procedures, including a simple-notification procedure, are established for decentralised devices, and for producing and storing energy from renewable sources.
▼M2 —————
Member States shall describe their policies and measures promoting the uptake of renewable energy purchase agreements in their integrated national energy and climate plans submitted pursuant to Articles 3 and 14 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 and their integrated national energy and climate progress reports submitted pursuant to Article 17 of that Regulation. They shall also provide, in those progress reports, an indication of renewable energy generation that is supported by renewable energy purchase agreements.
Following the assessment referred to in the first subparagraph, the Commission shall analyse the barriers to long-term renewable energy purchase agreements and in particular to the deployment of cross-border renewable energy purchase agreements and shall issue guidance on the removal those barriers.
Article 15a
Mainstreaming renewable energy in buildings
In order to achieve the indicative share of renewable energy provided for in paragraph 1, Member States shall, in their national regulations and building codes and, where applicable, in their support schemes or by other means with equivalent effect, require the use of minimum levels of energy from renewable sources produced on-site or nearby as well as renewable energy taken from the grid, in new buildings and in existing buildings that are undergoing major renovation or a renewal of the heating system, in accordance with Directive 2010/31/EU, where that is economically, technically and functionally feasible. Member States shall allow those minimum levels to be fulfilled through, inter alia, efficient district heating and cooling.
For existing buildings, the first subparagraph shall apply to the armed forces only to the extent that its application does not cause any conflict with the nature and primary aim of the activities of the armed forces and with the exception of material used exclusively for military purposes.
Article 15b
Mapping of areas necessary for national contributions towards the overall Union renewable energy target for 2030
Member States shall ensure that such areas, including the existing renewable energy plants and cooperation mechanisms, are commensurate with the estimated trajectories and total planned installed capacity by renewable energy technology set out in their national energy and climate plans submitted pursuant to Articles 3 and 14 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999.
For the purpose of identifying the areas referred to in paragraph 1, Member States shall take into account in particular:
the availability of energy from renewable sources and the potential for renewable energy production of the different types of technology in the land surface, sub-surface, sea or inland water areas;
the projected demand for energy, taking into account the potential flexibility of the active demand response, expected efficiency gains and energy system integration;
the availability of relevant energy infrastructure, including grids, storage and other flexibility tools or the potential to create or upgrade such grid infrastructure and storage.
Article 15c
Renewables acceleration areas
By 21 February 2026, Member States shall ensure that competent authorities adopt one or more plans designating, as a sub-set of the areas referred to in Article 15b(1), renewables acceleration areas for one or more types of renewable energy sources. Member States may exclude biomass combustion and hydropower plants. In those plans, competent authorities shall:
designate sufficiently homogeneous land, inland water, and sea areas where the deployment of a specific type or specific types of renewable energy sources is not expected to have a significant environmental impact, in view of the particularities of the selected area, while:
giving priority to artificial and built surfaces, such as rooftops and facades of buildings, transport infrastructure and their direct surroundings, parking areas, farms, waste sites, industrial sites, mines, artificial inland water bodies, lakes or reservoirs and, where appropriate, urban waste water treatment sites, as well as degraded land not usable for agriculture;
excluding Natura 2000 sites and areas designated under national protection schemes for nature and biodiversity conservation, major bird and marine mammal migratory routes as well as other areas identified on the basis of sensitivity maps and the tools referred to in the point (iii), except for artificial and built surfaces located in those areas such as rooftops, parking areas or transport infrastructure;
using all appropriate and proportionate tools and datasets to identify the areas where the renewable energy plants would not have a significant environmental impact, including wildlife sensitivity mapping, while taking into account the data available in the context of the development of a coherent Natura 2000 network, both as regards habitat types and species under Council Directive 92/43/EEC ( 17 ), as well as birds and sites protected under Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 18 );
establish appropriate rules for the renewables acceleration areas on effective mitigation measures to be adopted for the installation of renewable energy plants and co-located energy storage, as well as assets necessary for the connection of such plants and storage to the grid, in order to avoid the adverse environmental impact that may arise or, where that is not possible, to significantly reduce it, where appropriate ensuring that appropriate mitigation measures are applied in a proportionate and timely manner to ensure compliance with the obligations laid down in Article 6(2) and Article 12(1) of Directive 92/43/EEC, Article 5 of Directive 2009/147/EEC and Article 4(1), point (a)(i), of Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 19 ) and to avoid deterioration and achieve good ecological status or good ecological potential in accordance with Article 4(1), point (a), of Directive 2000/60/EC.
The rules referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph shall be targeted to the specificities of each identified renewables acceleration area, to the type or types of renewable energy technology to be deployed in each area and to the identified environmental impact.
Compliance with the rules referred to in the first subparagraph, point (b), of this paragraph and the implementation of the appropriate mitigation measures by the individual projects shall result in the presumption that projects are not in breach of those provisions without prejudice to Article 16a(4) and (5) of this Directive. Where novel mitigation measures to prevent, to the extent possible, the killing or disturbance of species protected under Directives 92/43/EEC and 2009/147/EC, or any other environmental impact, have not been widely tested as regards their effectiveness, Member States may allow their use for one or several pilot projects for a limited time period, provided that the effectiveness of such mitigation measures is closely monitored and appropriate steps are taken immediately if they prove not to be effective.
Competent authorities shall explain in the plans designating renewables acceleration areas referred to in the first subparagraph the assessment made to identify each designated renewables acceleration area on the basis of the criteria set out in point (a) of the first subparagraph and to identify appropriate mitigation measures.
By 21 May 2024, Member States may declare as renewables acceleration areas specific areas which have already been designated to be areas suitable for an accelerated deployment of one or more types of renewable energy technology, provided that all of the following conditions are met:
such areas are outside Natura 2000 sites, areas designated under national protection schemes for nature and biodiversity conservation and identified bird migratory routes;
the plans identifying such areas have been the subject of a strategic environmental assessment pursuant to Directive 2001/42/EC and, where appropriate, of an assessment pursuant to Article 6(3) of Directive 92/43/EEC;
the projects located in such areas implement appropriate and proportionate rules and measures to address the adverse environmental impact that may arise.
Article 15d
Public participation
Article 15e
Areas for grid and storage infrastructure necessary to integrate renewable energy into the electricity system
Member States may adopt one or more plans to designate dedicated infrastructure areas for the development of grid and storage projects that are necessary to integrate renewable energy into the electricity system where such development is not expected to have a significant environmental impact, such an impact can be duly mitigated or, where not possible, compensated for. The aim of such areas shall be to support and complement the renewables acceleration areas. Those plans shall:
for grid projects, avoid Natura 2000 sites and areas designated under national protection schemes for nature and biodiversity conservation, unless there are no proportionate alternatives for their deployment, taking into account the objectives of the site;
for storage projects, exclude Natura 2000 sites and areas designated under national protection schemes;
ensure synergies with the designation of renewables acceleration areas;
be subject to an environmental assessment pursuant to Directive 2001/42/EC and, where applicable, to an assessment pursuant to Article 6(3) of Directive 92/43/EEC; and
establish appropriate and proportionate rules, including on proportionate mitigation measures to be adopted for the development of grid and storage projects in order to avoid adverse effects on the environment that may arise, or, where it is not possible to avoid such effects, to significantly reduce them.
While preparing such plans, Member States shall consult the relevant infrastructure system operators.
Article 16
Organisation and main principles of the permit-granting procedure
Except when it coincides with other administrative stages of the permit-granting procedure, the duration of the permit-granting procedure shall not include:
the time during which the renewable energy plants, their grid connections and, with a view to ensuring grid stability, grid reliability and grid safety, the related necessary grid infrastructure, are being built or repowered;
the time for the administrative stages necessary for significant upgrades of the grid required to ensuring grid stability, grid reliability and grid safety;
the time for any judicial appeals and remedies, other proceedings before a court or tribunal, and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, including complaint procedures and non-judicial appeals and remedies.
Article 16a
Permit-granting procedure in renewables acceleration areas
By way of derogation from Article 6(3) of Directive 92/43/EEC, the renewable energy plants referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph, shall not be subject to an assessment of their implications for Natura 2000 sites provided that those renewable energy projects comply with the rules and measures established in accordance with Article 15c(1), point (b), of this Directive.
For the purpose of such a screening process, the project developer shall provide information on the characteristics of the renewable energy project, on its compliance with the rules and measures identified pursuant to Article 15c(1), point (b), for the specific renewables acceleration area, on any additional measures adopted by the project developer, and on how those measures address environmental impact. The competent authority may request the project developer to provide additional available information. The screening process relating to applications for new renewable energy plants shall be finalised within 45 days from the date of submission of sufficient information necessary for that purpose. However, in the case of applications for installations with an electrical capacity of less than 150 kW and new applications for the repowering of renewable energy power plants, the screening process shall be finalised within 30 days.
In the event of justified circumstances, including where needed to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy to achieve the climate and renewable energy targets, Member States may exempt wind and solar photovoltaic projects from such assessments.
Where Member States exempt wind and solar photovoltaics projects from those assessments, the operator shall adopt proportionate mitigation measures or, where such mitigation measures are not available, compensatory measures, which, if other proportionate compensatory measures are not available, may take the form of monetary compensation, in order to address any adverse effects. Where those adverse effects have an impact on species protection, the operator shall pay a monetary compensation for species protection programmes for the duration of the operation of the renewable energy plant in order to ensure or improve the conservation status of the species affected.
Article 16b
Permit-granting procedure outside renewables acceleration areas
The permit-granting procedure for the repowering of renewable energy power plants, for new installations with an electrical capacity of less than 150 kW and for co-located energy storage, as well as for the connection of such plants, installations and storage to the grid, located outside renewables acceleration areas shall not exceed 12 months, including with regard to environmental assessments where required by the relevant law. However, in the case of offshore renewable energy projects, the permit-granting procedure shall not exceed two years. Where duly justified on the ground of extraordinary circumstances, Member States may extend either of those periods by up to three months. Member States shall inform the project developer clearly of the extraordinary circumstances that justify such an extension.
Article 16c
Accelerating the permit-granting procedure for repowering
Article 16d
Permit-granting procedure for the installation of solar energy equipment
Member States may exclude certain areas or structures from the application of the first subparagraph for the purpose of protecting cultural or historical heritage, national defence interests, or safety reasons.
Where the application of the capacity threshold referred to in the first subparagraph leads to a significant administrative burden or to constraints to the operation of the electricity grid, Member States may apply a lower capacity threshold provided that it remains above 10,8 kW.
Article 16e
Permit-granting procedure for the installation of heat pumps
Unless there are justified safety concerns, unless further works are needed for grid connections or unless there is technical incompatibility of the system components, Member States shall ensure that connections to the transmission or distribution grid shall be permitted within two weeks of the notification to the relevant entity for:
heat pumps of up to 12 kW electrical capacity; and
heat pumps of up to 50 kW electrical capacity installed by renewables self-consumers, provided that the electrical capacity of a renewables self-consumer’s renewable electricity generation installation amounts to at least 60 % of the electrical capacity of the heat pump.
Article 16f
Overriding public interest
By 21 February 2024, until climate neutrality is achieved, Member States shall ensure that, in the permit-granting procedure, the planning, construction and operation of renewable energy plants, the connection of such plants to the grid, the related grid itself, and storage assets are presumed as being in the overriding public interest and serving public health and safety when balancing legal interests in individual cases for the purposes of Article 6(4) and Article 16(1), point (c), of Directive 92/43/EEC, Article 4(7) of Directive 2000/60/EC and Article 9(1), point (a), of Directive 2009/147/EC. Member States may, in duly justified and specific circumstances, restrict the application of this Article to certain parts of their territory, to certain types of technology or to projects with certain technical characteristics in accordance with the priorities set out in their integrated national energy and climate plans submitted pursuant to Articles 3 and 14 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999. Member States shall inform the Commission of such restrictions, together with the reasons therefor.
Article 17
Simple-notification procedure for grid connections
The distribution system operator may, within a limited period following the notification, reject the requested grid connection or propose an alternative grid connection point on justified grounds of safety concerns or technical incompatibility of the system components. In the case of a positive decision by the distribution system operator, or in the absence of a decision by the distribution system operator within one month following the notification, the installation or aggregated production unit may be connected.
Article 18
Information and training
Member States shall set up a framework to ensure a sufficient number of trained and qualified installers of the technology referred to in the first subparagraph to service the growth of renewable energy required to achieve the targets set out in this Directive.
To achieve such a sufficient number of installers and designers, Member States shall ensure that sufficient training programmes leading to certification or qualification covering renewable heating and cooling technology, solar photovoltaic systems, including energy storage, recharging points enabling demand response, and the latest innovative solutions thereof, are made available provided that they are compatible with their certification schemes or equivalent qualification schemes. Member States shall put in place measures to promote participation in such training programmes, in particular by small and medium-sized enterprises and the self-employed. Member States may put in place voluntary agreements with the relevant technology providers and vendors to train sufficient numbers of installers, which may be based on estimates of sales, in the latest innovative solutions and technology available on the market.
If Member States identify a substantial gap between available and necessary number of trained and qualified installers, they shall take measures to address that gap.
Article 19
Guarantees of origin for energy from renewable sources
Member States shall ensure that the same unit of energy from renewable sources is taken into account only once.
Simplified registration processes and reduced registration fees shall be introduced for small installations of less than 50 kW and for renewable energy communities.
Member States shall ensure that when a producer receives financial support from a support scheme, the market value of the guarantee of origin for the same production is taken into account appropriately in the relevant support scheme.
It shall be presumed that the market value of the guarantee of origin has been taken into account appropriately in any of the following cases:
where the financial support is granted by way of a tendering procedure or a tradable green certificate system;
where the market value of the guarantees of origin is administratively taken into account in the level of financial support; or
where the guarantees of origin are not issued directly to the producer but to a supplier or consumer who buys the energy either in a competitive setting or in a long-term renewables power purchase agreement.
In order to take into account the market value of the guarantee of origin, Member States may, inter alia, decide to issue a guarantee of origin to the producer and immediately cancel it.
The guarantee of origin shall have no function in terms of a Member State's compliance with Article 3. Transfers of guarantees of origin, separately or together with the physical transfer of energy, shall have no effect on the decision of Member States to use statistical transfers, joint projects or joint support schemes for compliance with Article 3 or on the calculation of the gross final consumption of energy from renewable sources in accordance with Article 7.
A guarantee of origin shall specify at least:
the energy source from which the energy was produced and the start and end dates of production, which may be specified:
in the case of renewable gas, including gaseous renewable fuels of non-biological origin, and renewable heating and cooling, at an hourly or sub-hourly interval;
for renewable electricity, in accordance with the imbalance settlement period as defined in Article 2, point (15), of Regulation (EU) 2019/943;
whether it relates to:
electricity;
gas, including hydrogen; or
heating or cooling;
the identity, location, type and capacity of the installation where the energy was produced;
whether the installation has benefited from investment support and whether the unit of energy has benefited in any other way from a national support scheme, and the type of support scheme;
the date on which the installation became operational; and
the date and country of issue and a unique identification number.
Simplified information may be specified on guarantees of origin from installations of less than 50 kW.
Where an electricity supplier is required to demonstrate the share or quantity of energy from renewable sources in its energy mix for the purposes of point (a) of Article 3(9) of Directive 2009/72/EC, it shall do so by using guarantees of origin except:
as regards the share of its energy mix corresponding to non-tracked commercial offers, if any, for which the supplier may use the residual mix; or
where a Member State decides not to issue guarantees of origin to a producer that receives financial support from a support scheme.
Where gas is supplied from a hydrogen or natural gas network, including gaseous renewable fuels of non-biological origin and biomethane, the supplier is required to demonstrate to final consumers the share or quantity of energy from renewable sources in its energy mix for the purposes of Annex I to Directive 2009/73/EC. The supplier shall do so by using guarantees of origin except:
as regards the share of its energy mix corresponding to non-tracked commercial offers, if any, for which the supplier may use the residual energy mix;
where a Member State decides not to issue guarantees of origin to a producer that receives financial support from a support scheme.
When a customer consumes gas from a hydrogen or natural gas network, including gaseous renewable fuels of non-biological origin and biomethane, as demonstrated in the commercial offer by the supplier, Member States shall ensure that the guarantees of origin that are cancelled correspond to the relevant network characteristics.
Where Member States have arranged to have guarantees of origin for other types of energy, suppliers shall use for disclosure the same type of guarantees of origin as the energy supplied. Likewise, guarantees of origin created pursuant to Article 14(10) of Directive 2012/27/EU may be used to substantiate any requirement to demonstrate the quantity of electricity produced from high-efficiency cogeneration. For the purposes of paragraph 2 of this Article, where electricity is generated from high-efficiency cogeneration using renewable sources, only one guarantee of origin specifying both characteristics may be issued.
Article 20
Access to and operation of the grids
Article 20a
Facilitating system integration of renewable electricity
If technically available, distribution system operators shall also make available anonymised and aggregated data on the demand response potential and the renewable electricity generated and injected to the grid by self-consumers and renewable energy communities.
Member States shall adopt measures to require that vehicle manufacturers make available, in real-time, in-vehicle data related to the battery state of health, battery state of charge, battery power set point, battery capacity, and, where appropriate, the location of electric vehicles, to electric vehicle owners and users, as well as to third parties acting on the owners’ and users’ behalf, such as electricity market participants and electromobility service providers, under non-discriminatory terms and at no cost, in accordance with the data protection rules, and in addition to further requirements with regard to type approval and market surveillance laid down in Regulation (EU) 2018/858 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 22 ).
Member States shall provide a level playing field and non-discriminatory participation in the electricity markets for small, decentralised energy assets or mobile systems.
Article 21
Renewables self-consumers
Member States shall ensure that renewables self-consumers, individually or through aggregators, are entitled:
to generate renewable energy, including for their own consumption, store and sell their excess production of renewable electricity, including through renewables power purchase agreements, electricity suppliers and peer-to-peer trading arrangements, without being subject:
in relation to the electricity that they consume from or feed into the grid, to discriminatory or disproportionate procedures and charges, and to network charges that are not cost-reflective;
in relation to their self-generated electricity from renewable sources remaining within their premises, to discriminatory or disproportionate procedures, and to any charges or fees;
to install and operate electricity storage systems combined with installations generating renewable electricity for self-consumption without liability for any double charge, including network charges, for stored electricity remaining within their premises;
to maintain their rights and obligations as final consumers;
to receive remuneration, including, where applicable, through support schemes, for the self-generated renewable electricity that they feed into the grid, which reflects the market value of that electricity and which may take into account its long-term value to the grid, the environment and society.
Member States may apply non-discriminatory and proportionate charges and fees to renewables self-consumers, in relation to their self-generated renewable electricity remaining within their premises in one or more of the following cases:
if the self-generated renewable electricity is effectively supported via support schemes, only to the extent that the economic viability of the project and the incentive effect of such support are not undermined;
from 1 December 2026, if the overall share of self-consumption installations exceeds 8 % of the total installed electricity capacity of a Member State, and if it is demonstrated, by means of a cost-benefit analysis performed by the national regulatory authority of that Member State, which is conducted by way of an open, transparent and participatory process, that the provision laid down in point (a)(ii) of paragraph 2 either results in a significant disproportionate burden on the long-term financial sustainability of the electric system, or creates an incentive exceeding what is objectively needed to achieve cost-effective deployment of renewable energy, and that such burden or incentive cannot be minimised by taking other reasonable actions; or
if the self-generated renewable electricity is produced in installations with a total installed electrical capacity of more than 30 kW.
Member States shall put in place an enabling framework to promote and facilitate the development of renewables self-consumption based on an assessment of the existing unjustified barriers to, and of the potential of, renewables self-consumption in their territories and energy networks. That enabling framework shall, inter alia:
address accessibility of renewables self-consumption to all final customers, including those in low-income or vulnerable households;
address unjustified barriers to the financing of projects in the market and measures to facilitate access to finance;
address other unjustified regulatory barriers to renewables self-consumption, including for tenants;
address incentives to building owners to create opportunities for renewables self-consumption, including for tenants;
grant renewables self-consumers, for self-generated renewable electricity that they feed into the grid, non-discriminatory access to relevant existing support schemes as well as to all electricity market segments;
ensure that renewables self-consumers contribute in an adequate and balanced way to the overall cost sharing of the system when electricity is fed into the grid.
Member States shall include a summary of the policies and measures under the enabling framework and an assessment of their implementation respectively in their integrated national energy and climate plans and progress reports pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/1999.
Article 22
Renewable energy communities
Member States shall ensure that renewable energy communities are entitled to:
produce, consume, store and sell renewable energy, including through renewables power purchase agreements;
share, within the renewable energy community, renewable energy that is produced by the production units owned by that renewable energy community, subject to the other requirements laid down in this Article and to maintaining the rights and obligations of the renewable energy community members as customers;
access all suitable energy markets both directly or through aggregation in a non-discriminatory manner.
Member States shall provide an enabling framework to promote and facilitate the development of renewable energy communities. That framework shall ensure, inter alia, that:
unjustified regulatory and administrative barriers to renewable energy communities are removed;
renewable energy communities that supply energy or provide aggregation or other commercial energy services are subject to the provisions relevant for such activities;
the relevant distribution system operator cooperates with renewable energy communities to facilitate energy transfers within renewable energy communities;
renewable energy communities are subject to fair, proportionate and transparent procedures, including registration and licensing procedures, and cost-reflective network charges, as well as relevant charges, levies and taxes, ensuring that they contribute, in an adequate, fair and balanced way, to the overall cost sharing of the system in line with a transparent cost-benefit analysis of distributed energy sources developed by the national competent authorities;
renewable energy communities are not subject to discriminatory treatment with regard to their activities, rights and obligations as final customers, producers, suppliers, distribution system operators, or as other market participants;
the participation in the renewable energy communities is accessible to all consumers, including those in low-income or vulnerable households;
tools to facilitate access to finance and information are available;
regulatory and capacity-building support is provided to public authorities in enabling and setting up renewable energy communities, and in helping authorities to participate directly;
rules to secure the equal and non-discriminatory treatment of consumers that participate in the renewable energy community are in place.
Article 22a
Mainstreaming renewable energy in industry
Member States may count waste heat and cold towards the average annual increases referred to in the first subparagraph up to a limit of 0,4 percentage points, provided that the waste heat and cold is supplied from efficient district heating and cooling, excluding networks which supply heat to only one building or where all thermal energy is consumed only on-site and where the thermal energy is not sold. If they decide to do so, the average annual increase referred to in the first subparagraph shall increase by half of the waste heat and cold percentage points counted.
Member States shall include the policies and measures planned and taken to achieve such indicative increase in their integrated national energy and climate plans submitted pursuant to Articles 3 and 14 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 and their integrated national energy and climate progress reports submitted pursuant to Article 17 of that Regulation.
When electrification is considered to be a cost-effective option, those policies and measures shall promote the renewable-based electrification of industrial processes. Those policies and measures shall endeavour to create conducive market condition for the availability of economically viable and technically feasible renewable energy alternatives to replace fossil fuels used for industrial heating with the aim of reducing the use of fossil fuels used for heating in which the temperature is below 200 °C. When adopting those policies and measures, Member States shall take into account the energy efficiency first principle, effectiveness and international competitiveness and the need to tackle regulatory, administrative and economic barriers.
Member States shall ensure that the contribution of renewable fuels of non-biological origin used for final energy and non-energy purposes shall be at least 42 % of the hydrogen used for final energy and non-energy purposes in industry by 2030, and 60 % by 2035. For the calculation of that percentage, the following rules shall apply:
for the calculation of the denominator, the energy content of hydrogen for final energy and non-energy purposes shall be taken into account, excluding:
hydrogen used as intermediate products for the production of conventional transport fuels and biofuels;
hydrogen that is produced by decarbonising industrial residual gas and that is used to replace the specific gas from which it is produced;
hydrogen produced as a by-product or derived from by-products in industrial installations;
for the calculation of the numerator, the energy content of the renewable fuels of non-biological origin consumed in the industry sector for final energy and non-energy purposes shall be taken into account, excluding renewable fuels of non-biological origin used as intermediate products for the production of conventional transport fuels and biofuels;
for the calculation of the numerator and the denominator, the values regarding the energy content of fuels set out in Annex III shall be used.
For the purposes of point (c) of the fifth subparagraph of this paragraph„ in order to determine the energy content of fuels not included in Annex III, the Member States shall use the relevant European standards for the determination of the calorific values of fuels, or where no European standard has been adopted for that purpose, the relevant ISO standards.
Article 22b
Conditions for reduction of the target for the use of renewable fuels of non-biological origin in the industry sector
A Member State may reduce the contribution of renewable fuels of non-biological origin used for final energy and non-energy purposes referred to in Article 22a(1), fifth subparagraph, by 20 % in 2030, provided that:
that Member State is on track towards its national contribution to the binding overall Union target set in Article 3(1), first subparagraph, which is at least equivalent to its expected national contribution in accordance with the formula referred to in Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/1999; and
the share of hydrogen, or its derivatives, produced from fossil fuels which is consumed in that Member State is not more than 23 % in 2030 and not more than 20 % in 2035.
Where any of those conditions are not fulfilled, the reduction referred to in the first subparagraph shall cease to apply.
The Commission shall monitor the situation in Member States benefitting from a reduction with a view to verifying the ongoing fulfilment of conditions set out in paragraph 1, points (a) and (b).
Article 23
Mainstreaming renewable energy in heating and cooling
Member States may count waste heat and cold towards the average annual increases referred to in the first subparagraph, up to a limit of 0,4 percentage points. If they decide to do so, the average annual increase shall increase by half of the waste heat and cold percentage points counted to an upper limit of 1,0 percentage points for the period 2021 to 2025 and of 1,3 percentage points for the period 2026 to 2030.
Member States shall inform the Commission of their intention to count waste heat and cold and the estimated amount in their integrated national energy and climate plans submitted pursuant to Articles 3 and 14 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999. In addition to the minimum percentage points annual increases referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph, each Member State shall endeavour to increase the share of renewable energy in its heating and cooling sector by the additional indicative percentage points set out in Annex Ia to this Directive.
Member States may count renewable electricity used for heating and cooling towards the annual average increase set out in the first subparagraph, up to a limit of 0,4 percentage points, provided that the efficiency of the heat and cold generator unit is higher than 100 %. If they decide to do so, the average annual increase shall increase by half of that renewable electricity expressed in percentage points to an upper limit of 1,0 percentage points for the period 2021 to 2025 and of 1,3 percentage points for the period 2026 to 2030.
Member States shall inform the Commission of their intention to count renewable electricity used in heating and cooling from heat and cold generators the efficiency of which is higher than 100 % towards the annual increase set out in first subparagraph of this paragraph. Member States shall include the estimated renewable electricity capacities of heat and cold generator units the efficiency of which is higher than 100 % in their integrated national energy and climate plans submitted pursuant to Articles 3 and 14 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999. Member States shall include the amount of renewable electricity used in heating and cooling from heat and cold generator units the efficiency of which is higher than 100 % in their integrated national energy and climate progress reports submitted pursuant to Article 17 of that Regulation.
►M2 For the purposes of paragraph 1 of this Article, when calculating its share of renewable energy in the heating and cooling sector and its average annual increase in accordance with that paragraph, including the additional indicative increase set out in Annex Ia, each Member State: ◄
▼M2 —————
where its share of renewable energy in the heating and cooling sector is above 60 %, may count any such share as fulfilling the average annual increase; and
where its share of renewable energy in the heating and cooling sector is above 50 % and up to 60 %, may count any such share as fulfilling half of the average annual increase.
When deciding which measures to adopt for the purposes of deploying energy from renewable sources in the heating and cooling sector, Member States may take into account cost-effectiveness reflecting structural barriers arising from the high share of natural gas or cooling, or from a dispersed settlement structure with low population density.
Where those measures would result in a lower average annual increase than that referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, Member States shall make it public, for instance by the means of their integrated national energy and climate progress reports pursuant to Article 20 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999, and provide the Commission with reasons, including of choice of measures as referred to the second subparagraph of this paragraph.
Member States shall in particular provide information to the owners or tenants of buildings and SMEs on cost-effective measures, and financial instruments, to improve the use of renewable energy in the heating and cooling systems. Member States shall provide the information through accessible and transparent advisory tools.
To achieve the average annual increase referred to in paragraph 1, first subparagraph, Member States shall endeavour to implement at least two of the following measures:
physical incorporation of renewable energy or waste heat and cold in the energy sources and fuels supplied for heating and cooling;
the installation of highly efficient renewable heating and cooling systems in buildings, the connection of buildings to efficient district heating and cooling systems or the use of renewable energy or waste heat and cold in industrial heating and cooling processes;
measures covered by tradable certificates proving compliance with the obligation laid down in paragraph 1, first subparagraph, through support to installation measures under point (b) of this paragraph, carried out by another economic operator such as an independent renewable energy technology installer or an energy service company providing renewable energy installation services;
capacity building for national, regional and local authorities to map local renewable heating and cooling potential and plan, implement and advise on renewable energy projects and infrastructures;
the creation of risk mitigation frameworks to reduce the cost of capital for renewable heat and cooling and waste heat and cold projects, allowing for, inter alia, the bundling of smaller projects as well as linking such projects more holistically with other energy efficiency and building renovation measures;
the promotion of renewables heating and cooling purchase agreements for corporate and collective small consumers;
planned replacement schemes of fossil heating sources, heating systems that are not compatible with renewable sources or fossil phase-out schemes with milestones;
requirements at local and regional level concerning renewable heat planning, encompassing cooling;
the promotion of the production of biogas and its injection into the gas grid, instead of its use for electricity production;
measures promoting the integration of thermal energy storage technology in heating and cooling systems;
the promotion of renewable based district heating and cooling networks, in particular by renewable energy communities, including through regulatory measures, financing arrangements and support;
other policy measures, with an equivalent effect, including fiscal measures, support schemes or other financial incentives that contribute to the installation of renewable heating and cooling equipment and the development of energy networks supplying renewable energy for heating and cooling in buildings and industry.
When adopting and implementing those measures, Member States shall ensure their accessibility to all consumers, in particular those in low-income or vulnerable households, who would not otherwise possess sufficient up-front capital to benefit.
Where entities are designated under paragraph 3, Member States shall ensure that the contribution by those designated entities is measurable and verifiable and that the designated entities report annually on:
the total amount of energy supplied for heating and cooling;
the total amount of renewable energy supplied for heating and cooling;
the amount of waste heat and cold supplied for heating and cooling;
the share of renewable energy and waste heat and cold in the total amount of energy supplied for heating and cooling; and
the type of renewable energy source.
Article 24
District heating and cooling
Where the termination of a contract is linked to physical disconnection, such a termination may be made conditional on compensation for the costs directly incurred as a result of the physical disconnection and for the undepreciated portion of assets needed to provide heat and cold to that customer.
Member States may count renewable electricity used for district heating and cooling in the annual average increase set out in the first subparagraph.
Member States shall inform the Commission of their intention to count renewable electricity used in district heating and cooling towards the annual increase set out in first subparagraph of this paragraph. Member States shall include the estimated renewable electricity capacities for district heating and cooling in their integrated national energy and climate plans submitted pursuant to Articles 3 and 14 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999. Member States shall include the amount of renewable electricity used in district heating and cooling in their integrated national energy and climate progress reports submitted pursuant to Article 17 of that Regulation.
Member States with a share of energy from renewable sources and from waste heat and cold in district heating and cooling above 60 % may count any such share as fulfilling the average annual increase referred to in paragraph 4, first subparagraph. Member States with a share of energy from renewable sources and from waste heat and cold in district heating and cooling above 50 % and up to 60 % may count any such share as fulfilling half of the average annual increase referred to in paragraph 4, first subparagraph.
Member States shall lay down the necessary measures to implement the average annual increase referred to in paragraph 4, first subparagraph, of this Article, in their integrated national energy and climate plans submitted pursuant to Articles 3 and 14 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999.
Member States shall ensure that operators of district heating or cooling systems above 25 MWth capacity are encouraged to connect third party suppliers of energy from renewable sources and from waste heat and cold or are encouraged to offer to connect and purchase heat or cold from renewable sources and from waste heat and cold from third-party suppliers on the basis of non-discriminatory criteria set by the competent authority of the Member State concerned, where such operators need to do one or more of the following:
meet demand from new customers;
replace existing heat or cold generation capacity;
expand existing heat or cold generation capacity.
Member States may allow an operator of a district heating or cooling system to refuse to connect and to purchase heat or cold from a third-party supplier in any of the following situations:
the system lacks the necessary capacity due to other supplies of heat or cold from renewable sources or of waste heat and cold;
the heat or cold from the third-party supplier does not meet the technical parameters necessary to connect and ensure the reliable and safe operation of the district heating and cooling system;
the operator can demonstrate that providing access would lead to an excessive heat or cold cost increase for final customers compared to the cost of using the main local heat or cold supply with which the renewable source or waste heat and cold would compete;
the operator’s system is an efficient district heating and cooling system.
Member States shall ensure that, when an operator of a district heating or cooling system refuses to connect a supplier of heating or cooling pursuant to the first subparagraph, information on the reasons for the refusal, as well as the conditions to be met and measures to be taken in the system in order to enable the connection, is provided by that operator to the competent authority. Member States shall ensure that an appropriate process is in place to remedy unjustified refusals.
Member States shall put in place, where necessary, a coordination framework between district heating and cooling system operators and the potential sources of waste heat and cold in the industrial and tertiary sectors to facilitate the use of waste heat and cold. That coordination framework shall ensure dialogue as regards the use of waste heat and cold involving, in particular:
district heating and cooling system operators;
industrial and tertiary sector enterprises generating waste heat and cold that can be economically recovered via district heating and cooling systems, such as data centres, industrial plants, large commercial buildings, energy storage facilities, and public transport;
local authorities responsible for planning and approving energy infrastructures;
scientific experts working on the latest state of the art of district heating and cooling systems; and
renewable energy communities involved in heating and cooling.
Member States shall ensure that electricity transmission and distribution system operators take due account of the results of the assessment required under the first subparagraph in grid planning, grid investment and infrastructure development in their respective territories.
Member States shall facilitate coordination between operators of district heating and cooling systems and electricity transmission and distribution system operators to ensure that balancing, storage and other flexibility services, such as demand response, provided by district heating and district cooling system operators, can participate in their electricity markets.
Member States may extend the assessment and coordination requirements under the first and third subparagraphs to gas transmission and distribution system operators, including hydrogen networks and other energy networks.
A Member State shall not be required to apply paragraphs 2 to 9 where at least one of the following conditions is met:
its share of district heating and cooling was less than or equal to 2 % of the gross final consumption of energy in heating and cooling on 24 December 2018;
its share of district heating and cooling is increased above 2 % of the gross final consumption of energy in heating and cooling on 24 December 2018 by developing new efficient district heating and cooling on the basis of its integrated national energy and climate plan submitted pursuant to Articles 3 and 14 of, and in accordance with, Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 and the assessment referred to in Article 23(1b) of this Directive;
90 % of the gross final consumption of energy in district heating and cooling systems takes place in efficient district heating and cooling systems.
Article 25
Increase of renewable energy and reduction of greenhouse gas intensity in the transport sector
Each Member State shall set an obligation on fuel suppliers to ensure that:
the amount of renewable fuels and renewable electricity supplied to the transport sector leads to a:
share of renewable energy within the final consumption of energy in the transport sector of at least 29 % by 2030; or
greenhouse gas intensity reduction of at least 14,5 % by 2030, compared to the baseline set out in Article 27(1), point (b), in accordance with an indicative trajectory set by the Member State;
the combined share of advanced biofuels and biogas produced from the feedstock listed in Part A of Annex IX and of renewable fuels of non-biological origin in the energy supplied to the transport sector is at least 1 % in 2025 and 5,5 % in 2030, of which a share of at least 1 percentage point is from renewable fuels of non-biological origin in 2030.
Member States are encouraged to set differentiated targets for advanced biofuels and biogas produced from the feedstock listed in Part A of Annex IX and renewable fuels of non-biological origin at national level in order to fulfil the obligation set out in the first subparagraph, point (b), of this paragraph, in a way that the development of both fuels is promoted and expanded.
Member States with maritime ports shall endeavour to ensure that as of 2030 the share of renewable fuels of non-biological origin in the total amount of energy supplied to the maritime transport sector is at least 1,2 %.
Member States shall, in their integrated national energy and climate progress reports submitted pursuant to Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999, report on the share of renewable energy within the final consumption of energy in the transport sector, including in the maritime transport sector, as well as on their greenhouse gas intensity reduction.
If the list of feedstock set out in Part A of Annex IX is amended in accordance with Article 28(6), Member States may increase their minimum share of advanced biofuels and biogas produced from that feedstock in the energy supplied to the transport sector accordingly.
For the calculation of the targets referred to in paragraph 1, first subparagraph, point (a), and the shares referred to in paragraph 1, first subparagraph, point (b), Member States:
shall take into account renewable fuels of non-biological origin also when they are used as intermediate products for the production of:
conventional transport fuels; or
biofuels, provided that the greenhouse gas emissions reduction achieved by the use of renewable fuels of non-biological origin is not counted in the calculation of the greenhouse gas emissions savings of the biofuels;
may take into account biogas that is injected into the national gas transmission and distribution infrastructure.
When designing the obligation on fuel suppliers, Member States may:
exempt fuel suppliers supplying electricity or renewable fuels of non-biological origin from the requirement to comply with the minimum share of advanced biofuels and biogas produced from the feedstock listed in Part A of Annex IX with respect to those fuels;
set the obligation by means of measures targeting volumes, energy content or greenhouse gas emissions;
distinguish between different energy carriers;
distinguish between the maritime transport sector and other sectors.
Article 26
Specific rules for biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from food and feed crops
Where that share is below 1 % in a Member State, it may be increased to a maximum of 2 % of the final consumption of energy in the road and rail transport sectors.
Member States may set a lower limit and may distinguish, for the purposes of Article 29(1), between different biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from food and feed crops, taking into account best available evidence on indirect land-use change impact. Member States may, for example, set a lower limit for the share of biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from oil crops.
Where the share of biofuels and bioliquids, as well as of biomass fuels consumed in transport, produced from food and feed crops in a Member State is limited to a share lower than 7 % or a Member State decides to limit the share further, that Member State may reduce the minimum share of renewable energy or the greenhouse gas intensity reduction target referred to in Article 25(1), first subparagraph, point (a), accordingly, in view of the contribution those fuels would have made in terms of the minimum share of renewable energy or greenhouse gas emissions savings. For the purpose of the greenhouse gas intensity reduction target, Member States shall consider those fuels save 50 % greenhouse gas emissions.
From 31 December 2023 until 31 December 2030 at the latest, that limit shall gradually decrease to 0 %.
By 1 February 2019, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and to the Council a report on the status of worldwide production expansion of the relevant food and feed crops.
By 1 February 2019, the Commission shall adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 35 to supplement this Directive by setting out the criteria for certification of low indirect land-use change-risk biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels and for determining the high indirect land-use change-risk feedstock for which a significant expansion of the production area into land with high-carbon stock is observed. The report and the accompanying delegated act shall be based on the best available scientific data.
By 1 September 2023, the Commission shall review the criteria laid down in the delegated act referred to in the fourth subparagraph of this paragraph on the basis of the best available scientific data and shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 35 in order to amend those criteria, where appropriate, and to supplement this Directive by including a trajectory to gradually decrease the contribution to the overall Union target set in Article 3(1) and to the minimum share of renewable energy and the greenhouse gas intensity reduction target referred to in Article 25(1), first subparagraph, point (a), of high indirect land-use change-risk biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from feedstock for which a significant expansion of the production into land with high-carbon stock is observed. That review shall be based on a revised version of the report on feedstock expansion submitted in accordance with the third subparagraph of this paragraph. That report shall, in particular, assess whether the threshold on the maximum share of the average annual expansion of the global production area in high carbon stocks should be reduced on the basis of objective and scientific based criteria and taking into consideration the Union’s climate targets and commitments.
Where appropriate, the Commission shall amend the criteria laid down in the delegated act referred to in the fourth subparagraph on the basis of the results of the assessment referred to in the fifth subparagraph. The Commission shall continue to review, every three years after the adoption of the delegated act referred to in the fourth subparagraph, the data underpinning that delegated act. The Commission shall update that delegated act when necessary in light of evolving circumstances and the latest available scientific evidence.
Article 27
Calculation rules in the transport sector and with regard to renewable fuels of non-biological origin regardless of their end use
For the calculation of the greenhouse gas intensity reduction referred to in Article 25(1), first subparagraph, point (a)(ii), the following rules shall apply:
the greenhouse gas emissions savings shall be calculated as follows:
for biofuel and biogas, by multiplying the amount of those fuels supplied to all transport modes by their greenhouse gas emissions savings determined in accordance with Article 31;
for renewable fuels of non-biological origin and recycled carbon fuels, by multiplying the amount of those fuels that is supplied to all transport modes by their greenhouse gas emissions savings determined in accordance with delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 29a(3);
for renewable electricity, by multiplying the amount of renewable electricity that is supplied to all transport modes by the fossil fuel comparator ECF(e) set out in in Annex V;
the baseline referred to in Article 25(1), first subparagraph, point (a)(ii), shall be calculated until 31 December 2030 by multiplying the amount of energy supplied to the transport sector by the fossil fuel comparator EF(t) set out in Annex V; from 1 January 2031, the baseline referred to in Article 25(1), first subparagraph, point (a)(ii), shall be the sum of:
the amount of fuels supplied to all transport modes multiplied by the fossil fuel comparator EF(t) set out in Annex V;
the amount of electricity supplied to all transport modes multiplied by the fossil fuel comparator ECF(e) set out in Annex V;
for the calculation of the relevant amounts of energy, the following rules shall apply:
in order to determine the amount of energy supplied to the transport sector, the values regarding the energy content of transport fuels set out in Annex III shall be used;
in order to determine the energy content of transport fuels not included in Annex III, the Member States shall use the relevant European standards for the determination of the calorific values of fuels, or, where no European standard has been adopted for that purpose, the relevant ISO standards;
the amount of renewable electricity supplied to the transport sector is determined by multiplying the amount of electricity supplied to that sector by the average share of renewable electricity supplied in the territory of the Member State in the two previous years, unless electricity is obtained from a direct connection to an installation generating renewable electricity and supplied to the transport sector, in which case electricity shall be fully counted as renewable and electricity generated by a solar-electric vehicle and used for the consumption of the vehicle itself may be fully counted as renewable;
the share of biofuels and biogas produced from the feedstock listed in Part B of Annex IX in the energy content of fuels and electricity supplied to the transport sector shall, except in Cyprus and Malta, be limited to 1,7 %;
the greenhouse gas intensity reduction from the use of renewable energy is determined by dividing the greenhouse gas emissions savings from the use of biofuels, biogas, renewable fuels of non-biological origin and renewable electricity supplied to all transport modes by the baseline; Member States may take into account recycled carbon fuels.
Member States may, where justified, increase the limit referred to in the first subparagraph, point (c)(iv), of this paragraph, taking into account the availability of feedstock listed in Part B of Annex IX. Any such increase shall be notified to the Commission, together with the reasons therefor, and shall be subject to approval by the Commission.
For the calculation of the minimum shares referred to in Article 25(1), first subparagraph, point (a)(i) and point (b), the following rules shall apply:
for the calculation of the denominator, that is the amount of energy consumed in the transport sector, all fuels and electricity supplied to the transport sector shall be taken into account;
for the calculation of the numerator, that is the amount of energy from renewable sources consumed in the transport sector for the purposes of Article 25(1), first subparagraph, the energy content of all types of energy from renewable sources supplied to all transport modes, including to international marine bunkers, in the territory of each Member State shall be taken into account; Member States may take into account recycled carbon fuels;
the share of biofuels and biogas produced from the feedstock listed in Annex IX and renewable fuels of non-biological origin shall be considered to be twice its energy content;
the share of renewable electricity shall be considered to be four times its energy content when supplied to road vehicles and may be considered to be 1,5 times its energy content when supplied to rail transport;
the share of advanced biofuels and biogas produced from the feedstock listed in Part A of Annex IX supplied in the aviation and maritime transport modes shall be considered to be 1,2 times their energy content and the share of renewable fuels of non-biological origin supplied in the aviation and maritime transport modes shall be considered to be 1,5 times their energy content;
the share of biofuels and biogas produced from the feedstock listed in Part B of Annex IX in the energy content of fuels and electricity supplied to the transport sector shall, except in Cyprus and Malta, be limited to 1,7 %;
in order to determine the amount of energy supplied to the transport sector, the values regarding the energy content of transport fuels set out in Annex III shall be used;
in order to determine the energy content of transport fuels not included in Annex III, the Member States shall use the relevant European standards for the determination of the calorific values of fuels, or, where no European standard has been adopted for that purpose, the relevant ISO standards;
the amount of renewable electricity supplied to the transport sector shall be determined by multiplying the amount of electricity supplied to that sector by the average share of renewable electricity supplied in the territory of the Member State in the two previous years, unless electricity is obtained from a direct connection to an installation generating renewable electricity and supplied to the transport sector, in which case that electricity shall be fully counted as renewable and electricity generated by a solar-electric vehicle and used for the consumption of the vehicle itself may be fully counted as renewable.
Member States may, where justified, increase the limit referred to in the first subparagraph, point (f), of this paragraph, taking into account the availability of feedstock listed in Part B of Annex IX. Any such increase shall be notified to the Commission, together with the reason therefor, and shall be subject to approval by the Commission.
However, electricity obtained from a direct connection to an installation generating renewable electricity may be fully counted as renewable where it is used for the production of renewable fuels of non-biological origin, provided that the installation:
comes into operation after, or at the same time as, the installation producing the renewable fuels of non-biological origin; and
is not connected to the grid, or is connected to the grid but evidence can be provided that the electricity concerned has been supplied without taking electricity from the grid.
Electricity that has been taken from the grid may be fully counted as renewable provided that it is produced exclusively from renewable sources and the renewable properties and other appropriate criteria have been demonstrated, ensuring that the renewable properties of that electricity are counted only once and only in one end-use sector.
By 31 December 2021, the Commission shall adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 35 to supplement this Directive by establishing a Union methodology setting out detailed rules by which economic operators are to comply with the requirements laid down in the second and third subparagraphs of this paragraph.
By 1 July 2028, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council assessing the impact of the Union methodology set out in accordance with the fourth subparagraph, including the impact of additionality and temporal and geographical correlation on production costs, greenhouse gas emissions savings, and the energy system.
That Commission report shall, in particular, assess the impact on the availability and affordability of renewable fuels of non-biological origin for industry and transport sectors and on the ability of the Union to achieve its targets for renewable fuels of non-biological origin taking into account the Union strategy for imported and domestic hydrogen in accordance with Article 22a, while minimising the increase in greenhouse gas emissions in the electricity sector and the overall energy system. Where the report concludes that the requirements fall short of ensuring sufficient availability and affordability of renewable fuels of non-biological origin for industry and transport sectors and do not substantially contribute to greenhouse gas emissions savings, energy system integration and the achievement of the Union targets for renewable fuels of non-biological origin set for 2030, the Commission shall review the Union methodology and shall, where appropriate, adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 35 to amend that methodology, providing the necessary adjustments to the criteria laid down in the second and third subparagraphs of this paragraph in order to facilitate the ramp-up of the hydrogen industry.
Article 28
Other provisions on renewable energy in the transport sector
▼M2 —————
The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 35 to amend the list of feedstock set out in Parts A and B of Annex IX by adding, but not removing, feedstock. Feedstock that can be processed only with advanced technologies shall be added to Part A of Annex IX. Feedstock that can be processed into biofuels, or biogas for transport, with mature technologies shall be added to Part B of Annex IX.
Such delegated acts shall be based on an analysis of the potential of the raw material as feedstock for the production of biofuels and biogas for transport, taking into account all of the following:
the principles of the circular economy and of the waste hierarchy established in Directive 2008/98/EC;
the Union sustainability criteria laid down in Article 29(2) to (7);
the need to avoid significant distortive effects on markets for (by-)products, wastes or residues;
the potential for delivering substantial greenhouse gas emissions savings compared to fossil fuels based on a life-cycle assessment of emissions;
the need to avoid negative impacts on the environment and biodiversity;
the need to avoid creating an additional demand for land.
The Commission shall, if appropriate, submit a proposal to amend the obligation relating to advanced biofuels and biogas produced from feedstock listed in Part A of Annex IX laid down in Article 25(1), first subparagraph, point (b).
Article 29
Sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria for biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels
Energy from biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels shall be taken into account for the purposes referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of this subparagraph only if they fulfil the sustainability and the greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria laid down in paragraphs 2 to 7 and 10:
contributing towards the renewable energy shares of Member States and the targets set in Article 3(1), Article 15a(1), Article 22a(1), Article 23(1), Article 24(4), and Article 25(1);
measuring compliance with renewable energy obligations, including the obligation laid down in Article 25;
eligibility for financial support for the consumption of biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels.
However, biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from waste and residues, other than agricultural, aquaculture, fisheries and forestry residues, are required to fulfil only the greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria laid down in paragraph 10 in order to be taken into account for the purposes referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph. In the case of the use of mixed wastes, Member States may require operators to apply mixed waste sorting systems that aim to remove fossil materials. This subparagraph shall also apply to waste and residues that are first processed into a product before being further processed into biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels.
Electricity, heating and cooling produced from municipal solid waste shall not be subject to the greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria laid down in paragraph 10.
Biomass fuels shall fulfil the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria laid down in paragraphs 2 to 7 and 10 if used:
in the case of solid biomass fuels, in installations producing electricity, heating and cooling with a total rated thermal input equal to or exceeding 7,5 MW;
in the case of gaseous biomass fuels, in installations producing electricity, heating and cooling with a total rated thermal input equal to or exceeding 2 MW;
in the case of installations producing gaseous biomass fuels with the following average biomethane flow rate:
above 200 m3 methane equivalent/h measured at standard conditions of temperature and pressure, namely 0 °C and 1 bar atmospheric pressure;
if biogas is composed of a mixture of methane and non-combustible other gas, for the methane flow rate, the threshold set out in point (i), recalculated proportionally to the volumetric share of methane in the mixture.
Member States may apply the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria to installations with lower total rated thermal input or biomethane flow rate.
The sustainability and the greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria laid down in paragraphs 2 to 7 and 10 shall apply irrespective of the geographical origin of the biomass.
Biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from agricultural biomass taken into account for the purposes referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall not be made from raw material obtained from land with a high biodiversity value, namely land that had one of the following statuses in or after January 2008, irrespective of whether the land continues to have that status:
primary forest and other wooded land, namely forest and other wooded land of native species, where there is no clearly visible indication of human activity and the ecological processes are not significantly disturbed; and old growth forests as defined in the country where the forest is located;
highly biodiverse forest and other wooded land which is species-rich and not degraded, and has been identified as being highly biodiverse by the relevant competent authority, unless evidence is provided that the production of that raw material did not interfere with those nature protection purposes;
areas designated:
by law or by the relevant competent authority for nature protection purposes, unless evidence is provided that the production of that raw material did not interfere with those nature protection purposes; or
for the protection of rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems or species recognised by international agreements or included in lists drawn up by intergovernmental organisations or the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, subject to their recognition in accordance with Article 30(4), first subparagraph, unless evidence is provided that the production of that raw material did not interfere with those nature protection purposes;
highly biodiverse grassland spanning more than one hectare that is:
natural, namely grassland that would remain grassland in the absence of human intervention and that maintains the natural species composition and ecological characteristics and processes; or
non-natural, namely grassland that would cease to be grassland in the absence of human intervention and that is species-rich and not degraded and has been identified as being highly biodiverse by the relevant competent authority, unless evidence is provided that the harvesting of the raw material is necessary to preserve its status as highly biodiverse grassland; or
heathland.
Where the conditions set out in paragraph 6, points (a)(vi) and (vii), are not met, the first subparagraph of this paragraph, with the exception of point (c), also applies to biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from forest biomass.
The Commission may adopt implementing acts further specifying the criteria by which to determine which grassland is to be covered by the first subparagraph, point (d), of this paragraph. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 34(3).
Biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from agricultural biomass taken into account for the purposes referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall not be made from raw material obtained from land with high-carbon stock, namely land that had one of the following statuses in January 2008 and no longer has that status:
wetlands, namely land that is covered with or saturated by water permanently or for a significant part of the year;
continuously forested areas, namely land spanning more than one hectare with trees higher than five metres and a canopy cover of more than 30 %, or trees able to reach those thresholds in situ;
land spanning more than one hectare with trees higher than five metres and a canopy cover of between 10 % and 30 %, or trees able to reach those thresholds in situ, unless evidence is provided that the carbon stock of the area before and after conversion is such that, when the methodology laid down in Part C of Annex V is applied, the conditions laid down in paragraph 10 of this Article would be fulfilled.
This paragraph shall not apply if, at the time the raw material was obtained, the land had the same status as it had in January 2008.
Where the conditions set out in paragraph 6, points (a)(vi) and (vii), are not met, the first subparagraph of this paragraph, with the exception of points (b) and (c), and the second subparagraph of this paragraph also apply to biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from forest biomass.
Biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from forest biomass taken into account for the purposes referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall meet the following criteria to minimise the risk of using forest biomass derived from unsustainable production:
the country in which forest biomass was harvested has national or sub-national laws applicable in the area of harvest as well as monitoring and enforcement systems in place ensuring:
the legality of harvesting operations;
forest regeneration of harvested areas;
that areas designated by international or national law or by the relevant competent authority for nature protection purposes, including in wetlands, grassland, heathland and peatlands, are protected with the aim of preserving biodiversity and preventing habitat destruction;
that harvesting is carried out considering maintenance of soil quality and biodiversity in accordance with sustainable forest management principles, with the aim of preventing any adverse impact, in a way that avoids harvesting of stumps and roots, degradation of primary forests, and of old growth forests as defined in the country where the forest is located, or their conversion into plantation forests, and harvesting on vulnerable soils, that harvesting is carried out in compliance with maximum thresholds for large clear-cuts as defined in the country where the forest is located and with locally and ecologically appropriate retention thresholds for deadwood extraction and that harvesting is carried out in compliance with requirements to use logging systems that minimise any adverse impact on soil quality, including soil compaction, and on biodiversity features and habitats;
that harvesting maintains or improves the long-term production capacity of the forest;
that forests in which the forest biomass is harvested do not stem from the lands that have the statuses referred to in paragraph 3, points (a), (b), (d) and (e), paragraph 4, point (a), and paragraph 5, respectively under the same conditions of determination of the status of land specified in those paragraphs; and
that installations producing biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels from forest biomass, issue a statement of assurance, underpinned by company-level internal processes, for the purpose of the audits conducted pursuant to Article 30(3), that the forest biomass is not sourced from the lands referred to in point (vi) of this subparagraph.
when evidence referred to in point (a) of this paragraph is not available, the biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from forest biomass shall be taken into account for the purposes referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 if management systems are in place at forest sourcing area level ensuring:
the legality of harvesting operations;
forest regeneration of harvested areas;
that areas designated by international or national law or by the relevant competent authority for nature protection purposes, including in wetlands, grassland, heathland and peatlands, are protected with the aim of preserving biodiversity and preventing habitat destruction, unless evidence is provided that the harvesting of that raw material does not interfere with those nature protection purposes;
that harvesting is carried out considering maintenance of soil quality and biodiversity, in accordance with sustainable forest management principles, with the aim of preventing any adverse impact, in a way that avoids harvesting of stumps and roots, degradation of primary forests, and of old growth forests as defined in the country where the forest is located, or their conversion into plantation forests, and harvesting on vulnerable soils, that harvesting is carried out in compliance with maximum thresholds for large clear-cuts as defined in the country where the forest is located, and with locally and ecologically appropriate retention thresholds for deadwood extraction and that harvesting is carried out in compliance with requirements to use logging systems that minimise any adverse impact on soil quality, including soil compaction, and on biodiversity features and habitats; and
that harvesting maintains or improves the long-term production capacity of the forest.
Biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from forest biomass taken into account for the purposes referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall meet the following land-use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) criteria:
the country or regional economic integration organisation of origin of the forest biomass is a Party to the Paris Agreement and:
it has submitted a nationally determined contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), covering emissions and removals from agriculture, forestry and land use which ensures that changes in carbon stock associated with biomass harvest are accounted towards the country’s commitment to reduce or limit greenhouse gas emissions as specified in the NDC; or
it has national or sub-national laws in place, in accordance with Article 5 of the Paris Agreement, applicable in the area of harvest, to conserve and enhance carbon stocks and sinks, and provides evidence that reported LULUCF-sector emissions do not exceed removals;
where evidence referred to in point (a) of this paragraph is not available, the biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from forest biomass shall be taken into account for the purposes referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 if management systems are in place at forest sourcing area level to ensure that carbon stocks and sinks levels in the forest are maintained, or strengthened over the long term.
As part of their final updated integrated national energy and climate plan to be submitted by 30 June 2024 pursuant to Article 14(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999, Member States shall include all of the following:
an assessment of the domestic supply of forest biomass available for energy purposes in 2021-2030 in accordance with the criteria laid down in this Article;
an assessment of the compatibility of the projected use of forest biomass for the production of energy with the Member States’ targets and budgets for 2026 to 2030 laid down in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2018/841; and
a description of the national measures and policies ensuring compatibility with those targets and budgets.
Member States shall report to the Commission on the measures and policies referred in the first subparagraph, point (c), of this paragraph as part of their integrated national energy and climate progress reports submitted pursuant to Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999.
The Commission shall, if appropriate, submit a legislative proposal to amend the criteria laid down in paragraphs 6 and 7 for the period after 2030.
The greenhouse gas emission savings from the use of biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraph 1 shall be:
at least 50 % for biofuels, biogas consumed in the transport sector, and bioliquids produced in installations in operation on or before 5 October 2015;
at least 60 % for biofuels, biogas consumed in the transport sector, and bioliquids produced in installations starting operation from 6 October 2015 until 31 December 2020;
at least 65 % for biofuels, biogas consumed in the transport sector, and bioliquids produced in installations starting operation from 1 January 2021;
for electricity, heating and cooling production from biomass fuels used in installations that started operating after 20 November 2023, at least 80 %;
for electricity, heating and cooling production from biomass fuels used in installations with a total rated thermal input equal to or exceeding 10 MW that started operating between 1 January 2021 and 20 November 2023, at least 70 % until 31 December 2029, and at least 80 % from 1 January 2030;
for electricity, heating and cooling production from gaseous biomass fuels used in installations with a total rated thermal input equal to or lower than 10 MW that started operating between 1 January 2021 and 20 November 2023, at least 70 % before they have been operating for 15 years, and at least 80 % after they have been in operation for 15 years;
for electricity, heating and cooling production from biomass fuels used in installations with a total rated thermal input equal to or exceeding 10 MW that started operating before 1 January 2021, at least 80 % after they have been operating for 15 years, at the earliest from 1 January 2026 and at the latest from 31 December 2029;
for electricity, heating and cooling production from gaseous biomass fuels used in installations with a total rated thermal input equal to or lower than 10 MW that started operating before 1 January 2021, at least 80 % after they have been operating for 15 years and at the earliest from 1 January 2026.
An installation shall be considered to be in operation once the physical production of biofuels, biogas consumed in the transport sector and bioliquids, and the physical production of heating and cooling and electricity from biomass fuels has started.
The greenhouse gas emission savings from the use of biofuels, biogas consumed in the transport sector, bioliquids and biomass fuels used in installations producing heating, cooling and electricity shall be calculated in accordance with Article 31(1).
Electricity from biomass fuels shall be taken into account for the purposes referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 only if it meets one or more of the following requirements:
it is produced in installations with a total rated thermal input below 50 MW;
for installations with a total rated thermal input from 50 to 100 MW, it is produced applying high-efficiency cogeneration technology, or, for electricity-only installations, meeting an energy efficiency level associated with the best available techniques (BAT-AEELs) as defined in Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2017/1442 ( 25 );
for installations with a total rated thermal input above 100 MW, it is produced applying high-efficiency cogeneration technology, or, for electricity-only installations, achieving an net-electrical efficiency of at least 36 %;
it is produced applying Biomass CO2 Capture and Storage.
For the purposes of points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article, electricity-only-installations shall be taken into account only if they do not use fossil fuels as a main fuel and only if there is no cost-effective potential for the application of high-efficiency cogeneration technology according to the assessment in accordance with Article 14 of Directive 2012/27/EU.
For the purposes of points (a) and (b) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article, this paragraph shall apply only to installations starting operation or converted to the use of biomass fuels after 25 December 2021. For the purposes of point (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article, this paragraph shall be without prejudice to support granted under support schemes in accordance with Article 4 approved by 25 December 2021.
Member States may apply higher energy efficiency requirements than those referred in the first subparagraph to installations with lower rated thermal input.
The first subparagraph shall not apply to electricity from installations which are the object of a specific notification by a Member State to the Commission based on the duly substantiated existence of risks for the security of supply of electricity. Upon assessment of the notification, the Commission shall adopt a decision taking into account the elements included therein.
For the purposes referred to in point (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article, Member States may derogate, for a limited period of time, from the criteria laid down in paragraphs 2 to 7 and 10 and 11 of this Article by adopting different criteria for:
installations located in an outermost region as referred to in Article 349 TFEU to the extent that such facilities produce electricity or heating or cooling from biomass fuels and bioliquids or produce biofuels; and
biomass fuels and bioliquids used in the installations referred to in point (a) of this subparagraph and biofuels produced in those installations, irrespective of the place of origin of that biomass, provided that such criteria are objectively justified on the grounds that their aim is to ensure, for that outermost region, access to safe and secure energy and a smooth phase-in of the criteria laid down in paragraphs 2 to 7 and 10 and 11 of this Article and thereby incentivise the transition from fossil fuels to sustainable biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels.
The different criteria referred to in this paragraph shall be subject to a specific notification by the relevant Member State to the Commission.
By 31 December 2026, the Commission shall assess the impact of such additional criteria on the internal market, accompanied, if necessary, by a proposal to ensure harmonisation thereof.
Until 31 December 2030, energy from biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels may also be taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraph 1, first subparagraph, points (a), (b) and (c), of this Article, where:
support was granted before 20 November 2023, in accordance with the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria set out in Article 29 in its version in force on 29 September 2020; and
support was granted in the form of a long-term support for which a fixed amount has been determined at the start of the support period and provided that a correction mechanism to ensure the absence of overcompensation is in place.
Article 29a
Greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria for renewable fuels of non-biological origin and recycled carbon fuels
Article 30
Verification of compliance with the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria
Where renewable fuels and recycled carbon fuels are to be counted towards the targets referred to in Article 3(1), Article 15a(1), Article 22a(1), Article 23(1), Article 24(4) and Article 25(1), Member States shall require economic operators to show, by means of mandatory independent and transparent audits, in accordance with the implementing act adopted pursuant to paragraph 8 of this Article, that the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria laid down in Article 29(2) to (7) and (10) and Article 29a(1) and (2) for renewable fuels and recycled-carbon fuels have been fulfilled. To that end, they shall require economic operators to use a mass balance system which:
allows consignments of raw material or fuels with differing sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving characteristics to be mixed for instance in a container, processing or logistical facility, transmission and distribution infrastructure or site;
allows consignments of raw material with differing energy content to be mixed for the purposes of further processing, provided that the size of consignments is adjusted according to their energy content;
requires information about the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving characteristics and sizes of the consignments referred to in point (a) to remain assigned to the mixture; and
provides for the sum of all consignments withdrawn from the mixture to be described as having the same sustainability characteristics, in the same quantities, as the sum of all consignments added to the mixture and requires that this balance be achieved over an appropriate period of time.
The mass balance system shall ensure that each consignment is counted only once in point (a), (b) or (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 7(1) for the purposes of calculating the gross final consumption of energy from renewable sources and shall include information on whether support has been provided for the production of that consignment, and if so, on the type of support scheme.
Where a consignment is processed, information on the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving characteristics of the consignment shall be adjusted and assigned to the output in accordance with the following rules:
when the processing of a consignment of raw material yields only one output that is intended for the production of biofuels, bioliquids or biomass fuels, renewable fuels of non-biological origin, or recycled carbon fuels, the size of the consignment and the related quantities of sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving characteristics shall be adjusted applying a conversion factor representing the ratio between the mass of the output that is intended for such production and the mass of the raw material entering the process;
when the processing of a consignment of raw material yields more than one output that is intended for the production of biofuels, bioliquids or biomass fuels, renewable fuels of non-biological origin, or recycled carbon fuels, for each output a separate conversion factor shall be applied and a separate mass balance shall be used.
The obligations laid down in this paragraph shall apply regardless of whether renewable fuels and recycled carbon fuels are produced within or are imported into the Union. Information about the geographic origin and feedstock type of biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels per fuel supplier shall be made available to consumers in an up-to-date, easily accessible, and user-friendly manner on the websites of operators, suppliers or the relevant competent authorities and shall be updated on an annual basis. ◄
Member States shall submit to the Commission, in aggregated form, the information referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph. The Commission shall publish that information on the e-reporting platform referred to in Article 28 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 in summary form preserving the confidentiality of commercially sensitive information.
The Commission may decide that those schemes contain accurate information on measures taken for soil, water and air protection, for the restoration of degraded land, for the avoidance of excessive water consumption in areas where water is scarce, and for certification of biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels with low indirect land-use change-risk.
The Commission shall require that each voluntary scheme on which a decision has been adopted under paragraph 4 submit annually by 30 April a report to the Commission covering each of the points ►C1 set out in Annex XI to Regulation (EU) 2018/1999. ◄ The report shall cover the preceding calendar year. The requirement to submit a report shall apply only to voluntary schemes that have operated for at least 12 months.
The Commission shall make the reports drawn up by the voluntary schemes available, in an aggregated form or in full if appropriate, on the e-reporting platform referred to in Article 28 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999.
A Member State may notify such a national scheme to the Commission. The Commission shall give priority to the assessment of such a scheme in order to facilitate mutual bilateral and multilateral recognition of those schemes. The Commission may decide, by means of implementing acts, whether such a notified national scheme complies with the conditions laid down in this Directive. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 34(3).
Where the Commission decides that the national scheme complies with conditions laid down in this Directive, other schemes recognised by the Commission in accordance with this Article shall not refuse mutual recognition with that Member State’s national scheme as regards verification of compliance with the criteria for which it has been recognised by the Commission.
For installations producing electricity, heating and cooling with a total rated thermal input between 7,5 and 20 MW, Member States may establish simplified national verification schemes to ensure the fulfilment of the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria set out in Article 29(2) to (7) and (10). For the same installations, the implementing acts provided for in paragraph 8 of this Article shall set out the uniform conditions for simplified voluntary verification schemes to ensure the fulfilment of the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria set out in Article 29(2) to (7) and (10).
The voluntary schemes referred to in paragraph 4 shall, at least annually, publish a list of their certification bodies used for independent auditing, indicating for each certification body by which entity or national public authority it was recognised and which entity or national public authority is monitoring it.
In those implementing acts, the Commission shall pay particular attention to the need to minimise administrative burden. The implementing acts shall set a time frame by which voluntary schemes are required to implement the standards. The Commission may repeal decisions recognising voluntary schemes pursuant to paragraph 4 in the event that those schemes fail to implement such standards in the time frame provided for. Where a Member State raises concerns that a voluntary scheme does not operate in accordance with the standards of reliability, transparency and independent auditing that constitute the basis for decisions under paragraph 4, the Commission shall investigate the matter and take appropriate action.
Competent authorities of the Member States shall supervise the operation of certification bodies that are conducting independent auditing under a voluntary scheme. Certification bodies shall submit, upon the request of competent authorities, all relevant information necessary to supervise the operation, including the exact date, time and location of audits. Where Member States find issues of non-conformity, they shall inform the voluntary scheme without delay.
Within six months of receipt of such a request, the Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, decide whether the Member State concerned may either:
take into account the renewable fuels and recycled carbon fuels from that source for the purposes referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 29(1); or
by way of derogation from paragraph 9, require suppliers of the source of renewable fuels and recycled carbon fuels to provide further evidence of compliance with those sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria and those greenhouse gas emissions savings thresholds.
The implementing acts referred to in the second subparagraph of this paragraph shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 34(3).
Article 31
Calculation of the greenhouse gas impact of biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels
For the purposes of Article 29(10), the greenhouse gas emissions saving from the use of biofuel, bioliquids and biomass fuels shall be calculated in one of the following ways:
where a default value for greenhouse gas emissions saving for the production pathway is laid down in Part A or B of Annex V for biofuels and bioliquids and in Part A of Annex VI for biomass fuels where the el value for those biofuels or bioliquids calculated in accordance with point 7 of Part C of Annex V and for those biomass fuels calculated in accordance with point 7 of Part B of Annex VI is equal to or less than zero, by using that default value;
by using an actual value calculated in accordance with the methodology laid down in Part C of Annex V for biofuels and bioliquids and in Part B of Annex VI for biomass fuels;
by using a value calculated as the sum of the factors of the formulas referred to in point 1 of Part C of Annex V, where disaggregated default values in Part D or E of Annex V may be used for some factors, and actual values, calculated in accordance with the methodology laid down in Part C of Annex V, are used for all other factors;
by using a value calculated as the sum of the factors of the formulas referred to in point 1 of Part B of Annex VI, where disaggregated default values in Part C of Annex VI may be used for some factors, and actual values, calculated in accordance with the methodology laid down in Part B of Annex VI, are used for all other factors.
Those data may, pursuant to such decisions, be used instead of the disaggregated default values for cultivation laid down in Part D or E of Annex V for biofuels and bioliquids and in Part C of Annex VI for biomass fuels.
The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts pursuant to Article 35 to amend, where appropriate, Annexes V and VI by adding or revising the default values or modifying the methodology.
In the case of an adaptation of, or addition to, the list of default values in Annexes V and VI:
where the contribution of a factor to overall emissions is small, where there is limited variation, or where the cost or difficulty of establishing actual values is high, the default values shall be typical of normal production processes;
in all other cases, the default values shall be conservative compared to normal production processes.
Article 31a
Union database
Where appropriate for the purpose of improving the traceability of data along the entire supply chain, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 35 to supplement this Directive by further extending the scope of the data to be included in the Union database to cover relevant data from the point of production or collection of the raw material used for the fuel production.
Member States shall require fuel suppliers to enter the data necessary to verify compliance with the requirements laid down in Article 25(1), first subparagraph, into the Union database.
Notwithstanding the first, second and third subparagraphs, for gaseous fuels injected into the Union’s interconnected gas infrastructure, economic operators shall, in the event that the Member State decides to complement a mass balance system by a system of guarantees of origin, enter into the Union database data on the transactions made and on the sustainability characteristics and other relevant data, such as greenhouse gas emissions of the fuels up to the injection point to the interconnected gas infrastructure.
Such voluntary or national schemes may use third-party data systems as intermediaries to collect the data, provided that such use has been notified to the Commission.
Each Member State may use an already existing national database aligned to and linked with the Union database via an interface, or establish a national database, which can be used by economic operators as a tool for collecting and declaring data and for entering and transferring those data into the Union database, provided that:
the national database complies with the Union database including in terms of the timeliness of data transmission, the typology of data sets transferred, and the protocols for data quality and data verification;
Member States ensure that the data entered into the national database are instantly transferred to the Union database.
Member States may establish national databases in accordance with national law or practice, such as to take into account stricter national requirements, as regards sustainability criteria. Such national databases shall not hinder the overall traceability of sustainable consignments of raw materials or fuels to be entered into the Union database in accordance with this Directive.
The verification of the quality of the data entered into the Union database by means of national databases, the sustainability characteristics of the fuels related to those data, and the final approval of transactions shall be carried out through the Union database alone. The accuracy and completeness of those data shall be verified in accordance with Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/996 ( 27 ). They may be checked by certification bodies.
Member States shall notify the detailed features of their national database to the Commission. Following that notification, the Commission shall assess whether the national database complies with the requirements laid down in the third subparagraph. If that is not the case, the Commission may require Member States to take appropriate steps to ensure compliance with those requirements.
Article 32
Implementing acts
The implementing acts referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 29(3), Article 29(8), the first subparagraph of Article 30(5), the second subparagraph of Article 30(6), the first subparagraph of Article 30(8), the first subparagraph of Article 31(4) and Article 31(6) of this Directive, shall take full account of the provisions relating to greenhouse gas emissions reductions in accordance with Article 7a of Directive 98/70/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 28 ).
Article 33
Monitoring by the Commission
That proposal shall take into account the experience of the implementation of this Directive, including its sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria, and technological developments in energy from renewable sources.
When preparing the legislative proposal referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph the Commission shall take into account, where appropriate:
the advice of the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change established under Article 10a of Regulation (EC) No 401/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 29 );
the projected indicative Union greenhouse gas budget as set out in Article 4(4) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 30 );
the integrated national energy and climate plans submitted by Member States by 30 June 2024 pursuant to Article 14(2) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999;
the experience gained by the implementation of this Directive, including its sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria; and
technological developments in energy from renewable sources.
Article 34
Committee procedure
Where the Committee delivers no opinion, the Commission shall not adopt the draft implementing act and the third subparagraph of Article 5(4) of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.
Article 35
Exercise of the delegation
Article 36
Transposition
When Member States adopt those measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. They shall also include a statement that references in existing laws, regulations and administrative provisions to the Directive repealed by this Directive shall be construed as references to this Directive. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made and how that statement is to be formulated.
Article 37
Repeal
Directive 2009/28/EC, as amended by the Directives listed in Part A of Annex X, is repealed with effect from 1 July 2021, without prejudice to the obligations of the Member States relating to the time-limits for the transposition into national law of the Directives set out in Part B of Annex X and without prejudice to the obligations of Member States in 2020 as laid down in Article 3(1) and set out in Part A of Annex I to Directive 2009/28/EC.
References to the repealed Directive shall be construed as references to this Directive and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table set out in Annex XI.
Article 38
Entry into force
This Directive shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Article 39
Addressees
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
ANNEX I
NATIONAL OVERALL TARGETS FOR THE SHARE OF ENERGY FROM RENEWABLE SOURCES IN GROSS FINAL CONSUMPTION OF ENERGY IN 2020 ( 31 )
A. National overall targets
|
|
Share of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption of energy, 2005 (S2005) |
Target for share of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption of energy, 2020 (S2020) |
|
Belgium |
2,2 % |
13 % |
|
Bulgaria |
9,4 % |
16 % |
|
Czech Republic |
6,1 % |
13 % |
|
Denmark |
17,0 % |
30 % |
|
Germany |
5,8 % |
18 % |
|
Estonia |
18,0 % |
25 % |
|
Ireland |
3,1 % |
16 % |
|
Greece |
6,9 % |
18 % |
|
Spain |
8,7 % |
20 % |
|
France |
10,3 % |
23 % |
|
Croatia |
12,6 % |
20 % |
|
Italy |
5,2 % |
17 % |
|
Cyprus |
2,9 % |
13 % |
|
Latvia |
32,6 % |
40 % |
|
Lithuania |
15,0 % |
23 % |
|
Luxembourg |
0,9 % |
11 % |
|
Hungary |
4,3 % |
13 % |
|
Malta |
0,0 % |
10 % |
|
Netherlands |
2,4 % |
14 % |
|
Austria |
23,3 % |
34 % |
|
Poland |
7,2 % |
15 % |
|
Portugal |
20,5 % |
31 % |
|
Romania |
17,8 % |
24 % |
|
Slovenia |
16,0 % |
25 % |
|
Slovak Republic |
6,7 % |
14 % |
|
Finland |
28,5 % |
38 % |
|
Sweden |
39,8 % |
49 % |
|
▼M2 ————— |
||
ANNEX IA
NATIONAL HEATING AND COOLING SHARES OF ENERGY FROM RENEWABLE SOURCES IN GROSS FINAL CONSUMPTION OF ENERGY FOR 2020-2030
|
|
Additional top-ups to Article 23(1) (in percentage points) for the period 2021-2025 (*1) |
Additional top-ups to Article 23(1) (in percentage points) for the period 2026-2030 (*2) |
Resulting shares including top-ups without waste heat and cold (in percentage points) |
|
Belgium |
1,0 |
0,7 |
1,8 |
|
Bulgaria |
0,7 |
0,4 |
1,5 |
|
Czechia |
0,8 |
0,5 |
1,6 |
|
Denmark |
1,2 |
1,1 |
1,6 |
|
Germany |
1,0 |
0,7 |
1,8 |
|
Estonia |
1,3 |
1,2 |
1,7 |
|
Ireland |
2,3 |
2,0 |
3,1 |
|
Greece |
1,3 |
1,0 |
2,1 |
|
Spain |
0,9 |
0,6 |
1,7 |
|
France |
1,3 |
1,0 |
2,1 |
|
Croatia |
0,8 |
0,5 |
1,6 |
|
Italy |
1,1 |
0,8 |
1,9 |
|
Cyprus |
0,8 |
0,5 |
1,6 |
|
Latvia |
0,7 |
0,6 |
1,1 |
|
Lithuania |
1,7 |
1,6 |
2,1 |
|
Luxembourg |
2,3 |
2,0 |
3,1 |
|
Hungary |
0,9 |
0,6 |
1,7 |
|
Malta |
0,8 |
0,5 |
1,6 |
|
Netherlands |
1,1 |
0,8 |
1,9 |
|
Austria |
1,0 |
0,7 |
1,8 |
|
Poland |
0,8 |
0,5 |
1,6 |
|
Portugal |
0,7 |
0,4 |
1,5 |
|
Romania |
0,8 |
0,5 |
1,6 |
|
Slovenia |
0,8 |
0,5 |
1,6 |
|
Slovakia |
0,8 |
0,5 |
1,6 |
|
Finland |
0,6 |
0,5 |
1,0 |
|
Sweden |
0,7 |
0,7 |
0,7 |
|
(*1)
The flexibilities of Article 23(2), points (b) and (c), where they were taken into account when calculating the top-ups and resulting shares.
(*2)
The flexibilities of Article 23(2), points (b) and (c), where they were taken into account when calculating the top-ups and resulting shares. |
|||
ANNEX II
NORMALISATION RULE FOR ACCOUNTING FOR ELECTRICITY GENERATED FROM HYDROPOWER AND WIND POWER
The following rule shall be applied for the purposes of accounting for electricity generated from hydropower in a given Member State:
►C1
◄ where:
|
N |
= |
reference year; |
|
QN(norm) |
= |
normalised electricity generated by all hydropower plants of the Member State in year N, for accounting purposes; |
|
Qi |
= |
the quantity of electricity actually generated in year i by all hydropower plants of the Member State measured in GWh, excluding production from pumped storage units using water that has previously been pumped uphill; |
|
Ci |
= |
the total installed capacity, net of pumped storage, of all hydropower plants of the Member State at the end of year i, measured in MW. |
The following rule shall be applied for the purposes of accounting for electricity generated from onshore wind power in a given Member State:
►C1
◄ where:
|
N |
= |
reference year; |
|
QN(norm) |
= |
normalised electricity generated by all onshore wind power plants of the Member State in year N, for accounting purposes; |
|
Qi |
= |
the quantity of electricity actually generated in year i by all onshore wind power plants of the Member State measured in GWh; |
|
Cj |
= |
the total installed capacity of all the onshore wind power plants of the Member State at the end of year j, measured in MW; |
|
n |
= |
4 or the number of years preceding year N for which capacity and production data are available for the Member State in question, whichever is lower. |
The following rule shall be applied for the purposes of accounting for electricity generated from offshore wind power in a given Member State:
►C1
◄ where:
|
N |
= |
reference year; |
|
QN(norm) |
= |
normalised electricity generated by all offshore wind power plants of the Member State in year N, for accounting purposes; |
|
Qi |
= |
the quantity of electricity actually generated in year i by all offshore wind power plants of the Member State measured in GWh; |
|
Cj |
= |
the total installed capacity of all the offshore wind power plants of the Member State at the end of year j, measured in MW; |
|
n |
= |
4 or the number of years preceding year N for which capacity and production data are available for the Member State in question, whichever is lower. |
ANNEX III
ENERGY CONTENT OF FUELS
|
Fuel |
Energy content by weight (lower calorific value, MJ/kg) |
Energy content by volume (lower calorific value, MJ/l) |
|
FUELS FROM BIOMASS AND/OR BIOMASS PROCESSING OPERATIONS |
|
|
|
Bio-Propane |
46 |
24 |
|
Pure vegetable oil (oil produced from oil plants through pressing, extraction or comparable procedures, crude or refined but chemically unmodified) |
37 |
34 |
|
Biodiesel – fatty acid methyl ester (methyl-ester produced from oil of biomass origin) |
37 |
33 |
|
Biodiesel – fatty acid ethyl ester (ethyl-ester produced from oil of biomass origin) |
38 |
34 |
|
Biogas that can be purified to natural gas quality |
50 |
— |
|
Hydrotreated (thermochemically treated with hydrogen) oil of biomass origin, to be used for replacement of diesel |
44 |
34 |
|
Hydrotreated (thermochemically treated with hydrogen) oil of biomass origin, to be used for replacement of petrol |
45 |
30 |
|
Hydrotreated (thermochemically treated with hydrogen) oil of biomass origin, to be used for replacement of jet fuel |
44 |
34 |
|
Hydrotreated oil (thermochemically treated with hydrogen) of biomass origin, to be used for replacement of liquefied petroleum gas |
46 |
24 |
|
Co-processed oil (processed in a refinery simultaneously with fossil fuel) of biomass or pyrolysed biomass origin to be used for replacement of diesel |
43 |
36 |
|
Co-processed oil (processed in a refinery simultaneously with fossil fuel) of biomass or pyrolysed biomass origin, to be used to replace petrol |
44 |
32 |
|
Co-processed oil (processed in a refinery simultaneously with fossil fuel) of biomass or pyrolysed biomass origin, to be used to replace jet fuel |
43 |
33 |
|
Co-processed oil (processed in a refinery simultaneously with fossil fuel) of biomass or pyrolysed biomass origin, to be used to replace liquefied petroleum gas |
46 |
23 |
|
RENEWABLE FUELS THAT CAN BE PRODUCED FROM VARIOUS RENEWABLE SOURCES, INCLUDING BIOMASS |
|
|
|
Methanol from renewable sources |
20 |
16 |
|
Ethanol from renewable sources |
27 |
21 |
|
Propanol from renewable sources |
31 |
25 |
|
Butanol from renewable sources |
33 |
27 |
|
Fischer-Tropsch diesel (a synthetic hydrocarbon or mixture of synthetic hydrocarbons to be used for replacement of diesel) |
44 |
34 |
|
Fischer-Tropsch petrol (a synthetic hydrocarbon or mixture of synthetic hydrocarbons produced from biomass, to be used for replacement of petrol) |
44 |
33 |
|
Fischer-Tropsch jet fuel (a synthetic hydrocarbon or mixture of synthetic hydrocarbons produced from biomass, to be used for replacement of jet fuel) |
44 |
33 |
|
Fischer-Tropsch liquefied petroleum gas (a synthetic hydrocarbon or mixture of synthetic hydrocarbons, to be used for replacement of liquefied petroleum gas |
46 |
24 |
|
DME (dimethylether) |
28 |
19 |
|
Hydrogen from renewable sources |
120 |
— |
|
ETBE (ethyl-tertio-butyl-ether produced on the basis of ethanol) |
36 (of which 33 % from renewable sources) |
27 (of which 33 % from renewable sources) |
|
MTBE (methyl-tertio-butyl-ether produced on the basis of methanol) |
35 (of which 22 % from renewable sources) |
26 (of which 22 % from renewable sources) |
|
TAEE (tertiary-amyl-ethyl-ether produced on the basis of ethanol) |
38 (of which 29 % from renewable sources) |
29 (of which 29 % from renewable sources) |
|
TAME (tertiary-amyl-methyl-ether produced on the basis of methanol) |
36 (of which 18 % from renewable sources) |
28 (of which 18 % from renewable sources) |
|
THxEE (tertiary-hexyl-ethyl-ether produced on the basis of ethanol) |
38 (of which 25 % from renewable sources) |
30 (of which 25 % from renewable sources) |
|
THxME (tertiary-hexyl-methyl-ether produced on the basis of methanol) |
38 of which 14 % from renewable sources) |
30 (of which 14 % from renewable sources) |
|
NON-RENEWABLE FUELS |
|
|
|
Petrol |
43 |
32 |
|
Diesel |
43 |
36 |
|
Jet fuel |
43 |
34 |
|
Hydrogen from non-renewable sources |
120 |
— |
ANNEX IV
TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION OF INSTALLERS AND DESIGNERS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY INSTALLATIONS
The certification or equivalent qualification schemes and training programmes referred to in Article 18(3) shall be based on the following criteria:
The certification or equivalent qualification process shall be transparent and clearly defined by the Member States or by the administrative body that they appoint.
The certificates issued by certification bodies shall be clearly defined and easy to identify for workers and professionals seeking certification.
The certification process shall enable installers to acquire the necessary theoretical and practical knowledge and guarantee the existence of skills needed to put in place high quality installations that operate reliably.
Installers of systems using biomass, heat pump, shallow geothermal, solar photovoltaic and solar thermal energy, including energy storage, and recharging points shall be certified by an accredited training programme or training provider or equivalent qualification schemes.
The accreditation of the training programme or provider shall be effected by Member States or by the administrative body that they appoint. The accrediting body shall ensure that the training, including upskilling and reskilling programmes, offered by the training provider are inclusive and have continuity and regional or national coverage.
The training provider shall have adequate technical facilities to provide practical training, including sufficient laboratory equipment or corresponding facilities to provide practical training.
The training provider shall offer, in addition to the basic training, shorter refresher and upskilling courses organised in training modules allowing installers and designers to add new competences, widen and diversify their skills across several types of technology and their combinations. The training provider shall ensure adaptation of training to new renewable energy technology in the context of buildings, industry and agriculture. Training providers shall recognise acquired relevant skills.
The training programmes and modules shall be designed to enable life-long learning in renewable energy installations and be compatible with vocational training for first time job seekers and adults seeking reskilling or new employment.
The training programmes shall be designed in order to facilitate acquiring qualifications covering different types of technology and solutions and avoid limited specialisation in a specific brand or technology. The training provider may be the manufacturer of the equipment or system, institutes or associations.
The training leading to certification or qualification of an installer shall include theoretical and practical parts. At the end of the training, the installer must have the skills required to install the relevant equipment and systems to meet the performance and reliability needs of the customer, incorporate quality craftsmanship, and comply with all applicable codes and standards, including energy and eco-labelling.
The training course shall end with an examination leading to a certificate or qualification. The examination shall include a practical assessment of successfully installing biomass boilers or stoves, heat pumps, shallow geothermal installations, solar photovoltaic or solar thermal installations, including energy storage, or recharging points, enabling demand response.
The certification schemes or equivalent qualification schemes referred to in Article 18(3) shall take due account of the following guidelines:
Accredited training programmes should be offered to installers with work experience, who have undergone, or are undergoing, the following types of training:
in the case of biomass boiler and stove installers: training as a plumber, pipe fitter, heating engineer or technician of sanitary and heating or cooling equipment as a prerequisite;
in the case of heat pump installers: training as a plumber or refrigeration engineer and have basic electrical and plumbing skills (cutting pipe, soldering pipe joints, gluing pipe joints, lagging, sealing fittings, testing for leaks and installation of heating or cooling systems) as a prerequisite;
in the case of a solar photovoltaic or solar thermal installer: training as a plumber or electrician and have plumbing, electrical and roofing skills, including knowledge of soldering pipe joints, gluing pipe joints, sealing fittings, testing for plumbing leaks, ability to connect wiring, familiar with basic roof materials, flashing and sealing methods as a prerequisite; or
a vocational training scheme to provide an installer with adequate skills corresponding to a three years education in the skills referred to in point (a), (b) or (c), including both classroom and workplace learning.
The theoretical part of the biomass stove and boiler installer training should give an overview of the market situation of biomass and cover ecological aspects, biomass fuels, logistics, fire protection, related subsidies, combustion techniques, firing systems, optimal hydraulic solutions, cost and profitability comparison as well as the design, installation and maintenance of biomass boilers and stoves. The training should also provide good knowledge of any European standards for technology and biomass fuels, such as pellets, and biomass related national and Union law.
The theoretical part of the heat pump installer training should give an overview of the market situation for heat pumps and cover geothermal energy sources and ground source temperatures of different regions, soil and rock identification for thermal conductivity, regulations on using geothermal energy sources, feasibility of using heat pumps in buildings and determining the most suitable heat pump system, and knowledge about their technical requirements, safety, air filtering, connection with the heat source and system layout, and integration with energy storage solutions, including in combination with solar installations. The training should also provide good knowledge of any European standards for heat pumps, and of relevant national and Union law. The installer should demonstrate the following key competences:
a basic understanding of the physical and operation principles of a heat pump, including characteristics of the heat pump circle: context between low temperatures of the heat sink, high temperatures of the heat source, and the efficiency of the system, determination of the coefficient of performance and seasonal performance factor (SPF);
an understanding of the components and their function within a heat pump circle, including the compressor, expansion valve, evaporator, condenser, fixtures and fittings, lubricating oil, refrigerant, superheating and sub-cooling and cooling possibilities with heat pumps; and
the ability to choose and size the components in typical installation situations, including determining the typical values of the heat load of different buildings and for hot water production based on energy consumption, determining the capacity of the heat pump on the heat load for hot water production, on the storage mass of the building and on interruptible current supply; determine energy storage solutions, including via the buffer tank component and its volume and integration of a second heating system;
an understanding of feasibility and design studies;
an understanding of drilling, in the case of geothermal heat pumps.
The theoretical part of the solar photovoltaic and solar thermal installer training should give an overview of the market situation of solar products and cost and profitability comparisons, and cover ecological aspects, components, characteristics and dimensioning of solar systems, selection of accurate systems and dimensioning of components, determination of the demand for heat, options for integrating energy storage solutions, fire protection, related subsidies, as well as the design, installation and maintenance of solar photovoltaic and solar thermal installations. The training should also provide good knowledge of any European standards for technology, and certification such as Solar Keymark, and related national and Union law. The installer should demonstrate the following key competences:
the ability to work safely using the required tools and equipment and implementing safety codes and standards and to identify plumbing, electrical and other hazards associated with solar installations;
the ability to identify systems and their components specific to active and passive systems, including the mechanical design, and to determine the location of the components, the system layout and the configuration, and options for the integration of energy storage solutions, including through combination with recharging stations;
the ability to determine the required installation area, orientation and tilt for the solar photovoltaic and solar water heater, taking account of shading, solar access, structural integrity, the appropriateness of the installation for the building or the climate and to identify different installation methods suitable for roof types and the balance of system equipment required for the installation; and
for solar photovoltaic systems in particular, the ability to adapt the electrical design, including determining design currents, selecting appropriate conductor types and ratings for each electrical circuit, determining appropriate size, ratings and locations for all associated equipment and subsystems and selecting an appropriate interconnection point.
The installer certification should be time restricted, so that a refresher seminar or event would be necessary for continued certification.
ANNEX V
RULES FOR CALCULATING THE GREENHOUSE GAS IMPACT OF BIOFUELS, BIOLIQUIDS AND THEIR FOSSIL FUEL COMPARATORS
A. TYPICAL AND DEFAULT VALUES FOR BIOFUELS IF PRODUCED WITH NO NET CARBON EMISSIONS FROM LAND-USE CHANGE
|
Biofuel production pathway |
Greenhouse gas emissions saving – typical value |
Greenhouse gas emissions saving – default value |
|
sugar beet ethanol (no biogas from slop, natural gas as process fuel in conventional boiler) |
67 % |
59 % |
|
sugar beet ethanol (with biogas from slop, natural gas as process fuel in conventional boiler) |
77 % |
73 % |
|
sugar beet ethanol (no biogas from slop, natural gas as process fuel in CHP plant (*)) |
73 % |
68 % |
|
sugar beet ethanol (with biogas from slop, natural gas as process fuel in CHP plant (*)) |
79 % |
76 % |
|
sugar beet ethanol (no biogas from slop, lignite as process fuel in CHP plant (*)) |
58 % |
47 % |
|
sugar beet ethanol (with biogas from slop, lignite as process fuel in CHP plant (*)) |
71 % |
64 % |
|
corn (maize) ethanol (natural gas as process fuel in conventional boiler) |
48 % |
40 % |
|
corn (maize) ethanol, (natural gas as process fuel in CHP plant (*)) |
55 % |
48 % |
|
corn (maize) ethanol (lignite as process fuel in CHP plant (*)) |
40 % |
28 % |
|
corn (maize) ethanol (forest residues as process fuel in CHP plant (*)) |
69 % |
68 % |
|
other cereals excluding maize ethanol (natural gas as process fuel in conventional boiler) |
47 % |
38 % |
|
other cereals excluding maize ethanol (natural gas as process fuel in CHP plant (*)) |
53 % |
46 % |
|
other cereals excluding maize ethanol (lignite as process fuel in CHP plant (*)) |
37 % |
24 % |
|
other cereals excluding maize ethanol (forest residues as process fuel in CHP plant (*)) |
67 % |
67 % |
|
sugar cane ethanol |
70 % |
70 % |
|
the part from renewable sources of ethyl-tertio-butyl-ether (ETBE) |
Equal to that of the ethanol production pathway used |
|
|
the part from renewable sources of tertiary-amyl-ethyl-ether (TAEE) |
Equal to that of the ethanol production pathway used |
|
|
rape seed biodiesel |
52 % |
47 % |
|
sunflower biodiesel |
57 % |
52 % |
|
soybean biodiesel |
55 % |
50 % |
|
palm oil biodiesel (open effluent pond) |
33 % |
20 % |
|
palm oil biodiesel (process with methane capture at oil mill) |
51 % |
45 % |
|
waste cooking oil biodiesel |
88 % |
84 % |
|
animal fats from rendering biodiesel (**) |
84 % |
78 % |
|
hydrotreated vegetable oil from rape seed |
51 % |
47 % |
|
hydrotreated vegetable oil from sunflower |
58 % |
54 % |
|
hydrotreated vegetable oil from soybean |
55 % |
51 % |
|
hydrotreated vegetable oil from palm oil (open effluent pond) |
34 % |
22 % |
|
hydrotreated vegetable oil from palm oil (process with methane capture at oil mill) |
53 % |
49 % |
|
hydrotreated oil from waste cooking oil |
87 % |
83 % |
|
hydrotreated oil from animal fats from rendering (**) |
83 % |
77 % |
|
pure vegetable oil from rape seed |
59 % |
57 % |
|
pure vegetable oil from sunflower |
65 % |
64 % |
|
pure vegetable oil from soybean |
63 % |
61 % |
|
pure vegetable oil from palm oil (open effluent pond) |
40 % |
30 % |
|
pure vegetable oil from palm oil (process with methane capture at oil mill) |
59 % |
57 % |
|
pure oil from waste cooking oil |
98 % |
98 % |
|
(*) Default values for processes using CHP are valid only if all the process heat is supplied by CHP. (**) Applies only to biofuels produced from animal by-products classified as category 1 and 2 material in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1), for which emissions related to hygenisation as part of the rendering are not considered. |
||
|
(1)
Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 laying down health rules as regards animal by-products and derived products not intended for human consumption and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 (Animal by-products Regulation) (OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, p. 1). |
||
B. ESTIMATED TYPICAL AND DEFAULT VALUES FOR FUTURE BIOFUELS THAT WERE NOT ON THE MARKET OR WERE ON THE MARKET ONLY IN NEGLIGIBLE QUANTITIES IN 2016, IF PRODUCED WITH NO NET CARBON EMISSIONS FROM LAND-USE CHANGE
|
Biofuel production pathway |
Greenhouse gas emissions saving - typical value |
Greenhouse gas emissions saving - default value |
|
wheat straw ethanol |
85 % |
83 % |
|
waste wood Fischer-Tropsch diesel in free-standing plant |
83 % |
83 % |
|
farmed wood Fischer-Tropsch diesel in free-standing plant |
82 % |
82 % |
|
waste wood Fischer-Tropsch petrol in free-standing plant |
83 % |
83 % |
|
farmed wood Fischer-Tropsch petrol in free-standing plant |
82 % |
82 % |
|
waste wood dimethylether (DME) in free-standing plant |
84 % |
84 % |
|
farmed wood dimethylether (DME) in free-standing plant |
83 % |
83 % |
|
waste wood methanol in free-standing plant |
84 % |
84 % |
|
farmed wood methanol in free-standing plant |
83 % |
83 % |
|
Fischer-Tropsch diesel from black-liquor gasification integrated with pulp mill |
89 % |
89 % |
|
Fischer-Tropsch petrol from black-liquor gasification integrated with pulp mill |
89 % |
89 % |
|
dimethylether (DME) from black-liquor gasification integrated with pulp mill |
89 % |
89 % |
|
Methanol from black-liquor gasification integrated with pulp mill |
89 % |
89 % |
|
the part from renewable sources of methyl-tertio-butyl-ether (MTBE) |
Equal to that of the methanol production pathway used |
|
C. METHODOLOGY
1. Greenhouse gas emissions from the production and use of transport fuels, biofuels and bioliquids shall be calculated as follows:
greenhouse gas emissions from the production and use of biofuels shall be calculated as:
E = eec + el + ep + etd + eu – esca – eccs – eccr,
where
|
E |
= |
total emissions from the use of the fuel; |
|
eec |
= |
emissions from the extraction or cultivation of raw materials; |
|
el |
= |
annualised emissions from carbon stock changes caused by land-use change; |
|
ep |
= |
emissions from processing; |
|
etd |
= |
emissions from transport and distribution; |
|
eu |
= |
emissions from the fuel in use; |
|
esca |
= |
emission savings from soil carbon accumulation via improved agricultural management; |
|
eccs |
= |
emission savings from CO2 capture and geological storage; and |
|
eccr |
= |
emission savings from CO2 capture and replacement. |
Emissions from the manufacture of machinery and equipment shall not be taken into account.
Greenhouse gas emissions from the production and use of bioliquids shall be calculated as for biofuels (E), but with the extension necessary for including the energy conversion to electricity and/or heat and cooling produced, as follows:
For energy installations delivering only heat:
For energy installations delivering only electricity:
where
|
ECh,el |
= |
Total greenhouse gas emissions from the final energy commodity. |
|
E |
= |
Total greenhouse gas emissions of the bioliquid before end-conversion. |
|
ηel |
= |
The electrical efficiency, defined as the annual electricity produced divided by the annual bioliquid input based on its energy content. |
|
ηh |
= |
The heat efficiency, defined as the annual useful heat output divided by the annual bioliquid input based on its energy content. |
For the electricity or mechanical energy coming from energy installations delivering useful heat together with electricity and/or mechanical energy:
For the useful heat coming from energy installations delivering heat together with electricity and/or mechanical energy:
where:
|
ECh,el |
= |
Total greenhouse gas emissions from the final energy commodity. |
|
E |
= |
Total greenhouse gas emissions of the bioliquid before end-conversion. |
|
ηel |
= |
The electrical efficiency, defined as the annual electricity produced divided by the annual fuel input based on its energy content. |
|
ηh |
= |
The heat efficiency, defined as the annual useful heat output divided by the annual fuel input based on its energy content. |
|
Cel |
= |
Fraction of exergy in the electricity, and/or mechanical energy, set to 100 % (Cel = 1). |
|
Ch |
= |
Carnot efficiency (fraction of exergy in the useful heat). |
The Carnot efficiency, Ch, for useful heat at different temperatures is defined as:
where
|
Th |
= |
Temperature, measured in absolute temperature (kelvin) of the useful heat at point of delivery. |
|
T0 |
= |
Temperature of surroundings, set at 273,15 kelvin (equal to 0 °C) |
If the excess heat is exported for heating of buildings, at a temperature below 150 °C (423,15 kelvin), Ch can alternatively be defined as follows:
|
Ch |
= |
Carnot efficiency in heat at 150 °C (423,15 kelvin), which is: 0,3546 |
For the purposes of that calculation, the following definitions apply:
‘cogeneration’ means the simultaneous generation in one process of thermal energy and electricity and/or mechanical energy;
‘useful heat’ means heat generated to satisfy an economical justifiable demand for heat, for heating and cooling purposes;
‘economically justifiable demand’ means the demand that does not exceed the needs for heat or cooling and which would otherwise be satisfied at market conditions.
2. Greenhouse gas emissions from biofuels and bioliquids shall be expressed as follows:
greenhouse gas emissions from biofuels, E, shall be expressed in terms of grams of CO2 equivalent per MJ of fuel, g CO2eq/MJ.
greenhouse gas emissions from bioliquids, EC, in terms of grams of CO2 equivalent per MJ of final energy commodity (heat or electricity), g CO2eq/MJ.
When heating and cooling are co-generated with electricity, emissions shall be allocated between heat and electricity (as under 1(b)), irrespective if the heat is used for actual heating purposes or for cooling ( 32 ).
Where the greenhouse gas emissions from the extraction or cultivation of raw materials eec are expressed in unit g CO2eq/dry-ton of feedstock, the conversion to grams of CO2 equivalent per MJ of fuel, g CO2eq/MJ, shall be calculated as follows ( 33 ):
where