On 14 July 2021 the European Commission adopted the “Fit for 55” package, adapting existing climate and energy legislation to meet the new EU objective of a minimum 55 % reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. One element in the package is the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II), which currently obliges the EU to ensure at least 32% of its energy consumption comes from renewable energy sources (RES) by 2030. The revised RED II strengthens these provisions and sets a new EU target of a minimum 40% share of RES in final energy consumption by 2030, together with new sectoral targets.
First of all, the definition of renewable fuels of non-biological origin and default value is to be modified by adding new definitions among which quality roundwood, renewable fuels, bidding zone, smart metering system, recharging point, domestic battery, electric vehicle battery, bidirectional charging, plantation forest and planted forest.
Then, the 2030 EU target is updated to at least a 40% share of energy from renewable sources in the Union’s gross final consumption of energy in 2030. The obligation to minimize the risks of unnecessary market distortions resulting from support schemes and to avoid supporting certain raw materials for energy production in line with the cascading principle is strengthened. A new obligation is introduced: to phase out, with some exceptions, support for electricity production from biomass from 2026.
Changed methodology and forced cooperation
The proposal is to update the calculation method of the share of energy from renewable energy sources so that (i) energy from renewable fuels of non-biological origin must be accounted in the sector in which it is consumed (electricity, heating and cooling or transport), and (ii) the renewable electricity used to produce renewable fuels of non-biological origin is not included in the calculation of the gross final consumption of electricity from renewable sources in the Member State.
For more cooperation between states, an additional paragraph is introduced on the Member States’ obligation to have a cross border pilot project within 3 years and on joint offshore energy planning per sea basin, under which Member States must jointly define and agree to cooperate on the amount of offshore renewable generation to be deployed within each sea basin by 2050, with intermediate steps in 2030 and 2040.
49% RES in buildings by 2030
For mainstreaming renewable energy and enabling measures to mainstream heating & cooling in buildings, a new article includes a new indicative Union target of renewables in buildings by 2030 of 49% and a reference to the new definition of “efficient district heating and cooling” that will be added to the recast Energy Efficiency Directive. This is considered one of the ways the minimum level of RES in new buildings and buildings undergoing major renovation can be satisfied. References to standards are updated, and the provision on renewables power purchase agreements is strengthened.
TSO and DSOs are required to make available information on the share of RES and the GHG content of the electricity they supply, in order to increase transparency and give more information to electricity market players, aggregators, consumers and end-users. Battery manufacturers must enable access to information on battery capacity, state of health, state of charge and power set point, to battery owners as well as third parties acting on their behalf. Also, DSOs might be forced to make an assessment every 4 years of the potential for district heating or cooling systems to provide balancing and other system services.
The paragraphs on buildings are modified to link them to the achievement of the indicative RES targets and to promote the switch from fossil fuel heating systems to RES, as well as to be coherent with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.
New obligations for the states
Member States shall ensure smart charging capability for non-publicly accessible normal power recharging points, due to their relevance to energy system integration. Member States shall also ensure that regulatory provisions concerning the use of storage and balancing assets do not discriminate against participation of small and/or mobile storage systems in the flexibility, balancing and storage services market.
Where possible, the Member States are required to develop efficient district heating and cooling (DHC) systems to promote heating and cooling from RES, with the intended result that energy system integration between DHC and other energy networks is enhanced. All Member States are asked to carry out an assessment of their potential of energy from renewable sources and of the use of waste heat and cold in the heating and cooling sector.
The new Directive will introduce higher obligation on Member States to increase the share of renewables in the heating and cooling sector by 1.1% per year, while the annual target for increased shares from renewables and waste heat & cold is increased from 1% to 2.1%. Member States also have to ensure that third parties who supply energy from renewable sources and waste heat & cold can connect to heating & cooling systems with a capacity of above 25 MWth.
RES in transport
The new Directive will increase the ambition level of renewables in transport by setting a 13% greenhouse gas intensity reduction target, increase the sub-target for advanced biofuels from at least 0.2 % in 2022 to 0.5% in 2025 and 2.2 % in 2030. A 2.6% sub-target for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) will be introduced.
The plan is to introduce a credit mechanism to promote electromobility, under which economic operators that supply renewable electricity to electric vehicles via public charging stations will receive credits they can sell to fuel suppliers who can use them to satisfy the fuel supplier obligation.
The methodology to calculate both the reduction of the greenhouse gas intensity of fuels achieved by the use of renewables in transport and the targets for advanced biofuels and biogas and renewable fuels of non-biological origin will be updated. Both the multipliers associated to certain renewable fuels and to renewable electricity used in transport, and the additionality framework for electricity in transport and to make the provisions on the calculation of renewable fuels of non-biological origin produced from electricity apply regardless of the sector in which such fuels are consumed will be removed.
Sustainability criteria
Updated paragraphs in the Renewable Directive will target the strengthening of the current sustainability criteria by applying the existing land criteria (e.g. no-go areas) for agricultural biomass also to forest biomass (including primary, highly diverse forests and peatlands). Those strengthened criteria are applied to small-scale biomass-based heat and power installations below a total rated thermal capacity of 5 MW. The existing greenhouse gas saving thresholds for electricity, heating and cooling production from biomass fuels will apply to existing installations (not only new installations). Also, further elements are added to minimize the negative impact of harvesting on soil quality and biodiversity.
In the same respect, a new article will be introduced on greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) and recycled carbon fuels, so that energy from RFNBOs can only be counted towards the targets set in this Directive if its GHG emissions savings are at least 70% and energy from recycled carbon fuels can only be counted towards the transport target if its GHG emissions savings are at least 70%.
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This article first appeared in the printed edition of Energynomics Magazine, issued in December 2021.
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