RED II from the biogas perspective

The Council of the European Union has recently confirmed the provisional agreement reached with the European Parliament on the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II). The provisional deal reached on 13 June was endorsed by the EU ambassadors (Council) on 27 June.

“The final agreement is stronger than the original proposal of the Commission addressing also many key challenges of the biogas sector, even though many trade-offs were made”, points out Susanna Plüger, Secretary General of EBA. Member States will need to reach 32% of RES on final energy consumption by 2030, instead of the initial 27% the Commission tabled in November. During this period, EU countries should also raise the share of RES supplied for heating and cooling by 1.3% annually. In the transport sector, fuel suppliers are asked to ensure a 14% share of final consumption, also by 2030.

In addition to the targets, the RED II has provided clarifications on the concept of renewable energy itself. It redefines what can be considered a renewable energy source or a biofuel and provides further explanations related to biogas and biomass production.

This binding document sets also new conditions for the implementation of the EU gas market, notably concerning support schemes, cooperation mechanisms, guarantees of origin and grid connections. The aspects related to sustainability criteria and the transport sector addressed on it have also a key impact on the use of biogas and biomethane.

EBA has produced a summary on the main issues of the RED II from the point of view of the biogas sector that you can download below and will organise a workshop for members in Brussels on 26 September to further discuss the implementation of the RED II.

More information:

Download full EBA summary on RED II

Download press release of the European renewable energy associations