Renewable energy target of 32%

European countries gave their endorsement to a binding EU-wide renewable energy target of 32% for 2030. They confirmed a deal on the Renewable Energy Directive, which negotiators from the Council and European Parliament reached on 14 June.

EU ambassadors endorsed the provisional agreement reached by the Bulgarian Presidency on the revision of the renewable energy directive. Negotiators of the Bulgarian Presidency reached a deal with the European Parliament at the fifth trilogue meeting, in the early morning of 14 June. Today's endorsement means that the Council has approved the deal.

This new regulatory framework will pave the way for Europe's transition towards clean energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro, tidal, geothermal, and biomass energy. It will also allow Europe to maintain its leadership role in the fight against climate change and in meeting the goals set by the Paris Agreement.

The agreement sets a headline target of 32% energy from renewable sources at EU level for 2030. There is a clause to review this target in the event of changes in demand of energy consumption and to take account of the EU's international obligations.

Other key elements of the agreement:

• The design of support schemes will provide for a possibility of technology specific support, aligned with state aid guidelines. The opening of renewable support towards neighbouring member states will be voluntary, at an aspirational pace of at least 5% between 2023 and 2026 and 10% between 2027 and 2030. Except for certain cases, member states will be obliged to issue guarantees of origin.
• Permit granting procedures will be simplified and streamlined with a maximum of two years for regular projects and one year in case of repowering, both extendable for an additional year in case of specific circumstances and notwithstanding environmental and judicial procedures. For small-scale projects below 10.8kW simple notification procedures will apply. Each member state may choose to apply simple notification procedures also to projects up to 50kW.
• The annual increase of energy from renewable sources in heating and cooling will be 1.3 percentage points indicatively, or 1.1 percentage points if waste heat is not taken into account.
• Via obligations on fuel suppliers, renewables will reach a level of at least 14% in transport by 2030, supplemented by a set of facilitative multipliers to boost renewables in different sectors.
• Conventional biofuels will be capped EU-wide at a maximum of 7%, with additional member state caps if below 7%. The counting of biofuels with a high risk of indirect land use change (ILUC) will be freezed at 2019 levels and gradually phased out from 2023 towards 2030.
• For biomass based electricity production, efficiency criteria will be applied according to the size of installations.
• The directive also establishes a clear and stable framework for household self-consumption. This means that consumers with small-scale installations of up to 30kW will be exempt from any charges or fees, while allowing member states to apply charges if self-consumption grows excessively.

Background and next steps

The revised renewable energy directive is one of the eight legislative proposals of the clean energy package which the Commission presented in November 2016. The EU has undertaken to cut CO2 emissions by at least 40% by 2030. By boosting renewable energy, which can be produced from a wide variety of sources including wind, solar, hydro, tidal, geothermal, and biomass, the EU is lowering its dependence on imported fossil fuels and making its energy production more sustainable. The renewable energy industry also drives technological innovation and employment across Europe.

The Council adopted its position on the proposal on 18 December 2017. This enabled the Bulgarian Presidency to start trilogue negotiations with the European Parliament on 27 February 2018. Following intense negotiations, a provisional deal was reached between the co-legislators at the fifth trilogue meeting on 13 - 14 June.

Today's endorsement by EU ambassadors means that the directive can be submitted for approval to the European Parliament, where the plenary vote is expected in October, and then back to the Council for final adoption. The directive will enter into force 20 days following its publication in the Official Journal of the EU.

This is a good step forward. It’s significantly higher than the European Commission’s proposal of 27% back in 2016. It’s also very good that the agreement sets out concrete measures to help ensure countries deliver on the target. The five year visibility on the support for renewables will really help industry plan ahead and reduce costs. It’ll help send the right signals to support investments in the supply chain.

But the Clean Energy Package is not over yet. The Parliament and Member States still need to agree on re-designing Europe’s electricity market to accommodate more renewables. But the fact that we have a deal on one of the most politically-sensitive files is very encouraging. It means that wind will play an increasing role in Europe’s energy mix. It means that we will stay in the race for global competitiveness. It’s good for jobs and investment in wind energy.

Dogovor je postignut 13. lipnja, a uključuje:

• 32% kao obvezujući cilj EU-a za obnovljive izvore do 2030. godine
• čišći transport temeljen na održivijim biogorivima
• nove mjere za potporu proizvodnji i potrošnji vlastite energije

Ciljevi koji se tiču transporta i veće upotrebe druge generacije biogoriva nalažu da bi goriva za transportne svrhe morala do 2030. godine doći iz obnovljivih izvora u najmanjem udjelu od 14%. Biogoriva prve generacije, temeljena na usjevima, moraju biti ograničena na razinu iz 2020. godine (s dodatnim 1%) i ni u kojem slučaju ne smiju prelaziti 7% ukupne potrošnje cestovnog i željezničkog prijevoza, dok udio naprednih biogoriva i bioplina mora biti najmanje 1% do 2025. godine i najmanje 3,5% do 2030. godine.

Prema ovom privremenom sporazumu države članice moraju osigurati da potrošač u EU ima pravo postati proizvođač i potrošač vlastite energije iz obnovljivih izvora, koji može:

• generirati obnovljivu energiju za vlastitu potrošnju, pohraniti i prodati višak proizvodnje;
• ugraditi i upravljati sustavima za skladištenje električne energije u kombinaciji s postrojenjima koja proizvode obnovljivu električnu energiju za vlastitu potrošnju, bez odgovornosti za bilo kakvu dvostruku naplatu;
• ne smije biti podvrgnut nikakvoj naknadi ili naknadi za vlastitu energiju do 2026. godine, s određenim ograničenim izuzećima koja su predviđena nakon toga;
• primati naknadu za vlastitu proizvodnju električne energije iz obnovljivih izvora koja ulazi u mrežu;
• pridružiti se zajednicama obnovljivih izvora energije kako bi integrirao vlastitu potrošnju u prijelaz na čišću energiju.

Privremeni sporazum sada treba odobrenje ministara koji sjede u Vijeću EU-a i zastupnika u Europskom parlamentu. Kada se to postigne, zakon stupa na snagu 20 dana nakon datuma objavljivanja u Službenom listu Europske unije. Zemlje članice morat će uključiti nove elemente Direktive u nacionalna zakonodavstva do 30. lipnja 2021.

Europe 2020 indicators - Croatia

The energy sector in Croatia

Croatia has around 4.28 million inhabitants and rich potential for renewable energy and energy efficiency. In 2016 the country produced 57.3 percent of its total primary energy supply, including around 20 percent of the oil it consumes, and around two thirds of natural gas. Unlike most of its Western Balkan neighbours it no longer has its own coal reserves.

Croatia produces only about half of its own electricity, depending on hydrological conditions. Most of the electricity generation capacity is owned by Hrvatska Elektroprivreda, the state-owned electricity group. In 2015, 57% of domestically generated electricity came from hydropower, 20% from coal, 12.4% from oil/gas, 7% from wind, 2.3% from biomass and 0.5% from solar. In other words, non-hydropower renewables accounted for just under 10% of generation. Krsko nuclear power plant in Slovenia, of which HEP owns 50 percent, also contributes to Croatia’s electricity supply but is counted under imports in the statistics.

Electricity generation in Croatia, 2015, GWh

Although Croatia has made some progress in using its wind and solar PV potential in recent years, this there is still much more potential that has not been exploited. Solar thermal is also underused compared to the obvious potential in this very sunny country.

Source	Solar PV	Wind
IRENA Cost-competitive potential	3173 MW 4309 GWh	14384 MW 28317 GWh
SEERMAP Decarbonisation scenario (2050 minus 2016)	1839 MW 1837 GWh	3857 MW 7215 GWh
SEE-SEP The EU Road scenario	6950 MW 11830 GWh	3200 MW 8450 GWh

Renewables and energy efficiency development has been held back by a lack of political will resulting in small quotas for support for wind and especially solar. Croatia has not developed a new energy strategy since the over-ambitious and outdated 2009 one, so there has been no systematic debate about the country’s energy direction in recent years. In line with EU state aid rules, Croatia has now switched to auctioning and feed-in premiums rather than feed-in tariffs, but as of May 2018 had not approved the supporting legislation that would enable the system to function, this braking further development until this is resolved.

Much time and resources have also been lost on pushing outdated projects such as the 500 MW Plomin C coal power plant, to be run on imported coal, the 450 MW Peruća gas power plant, and large-scale hydropower projects in sensitive locations such as Ombla and Kosinj. The first three of these projects have now been cancelled after civil society campaigns highlighted their weaknesses. However a floating LNG terminal on the island of Krk is still planned, with support from the EU.

Croatia still has plenty of potential for energy efficiency improvements. Its energy intensity of total primary energy supply was 21.9 percent above the EU average in 2016. There is still plenty of work to be done to improve efficiency in the residential sector.

Sources:

1. Energy Community Implementation Report 2017 
2. BIH State Regulatory Commission for Electrical Energy – 2016 annual report 
3. IEA energy statistics
4. EIHP: Energy in Croatia 2016 

BONUS

The winners of the EU Sustainable Energy Awards 2018 were announced at an Awards Ceremony with the European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete, in Brussels.

12 projects across 4 categories made it onto the Awards shortlist this year.

CONSUMERS: Bio.Energy.Parc

In 2008, the 7,200 inhabitants of Saerbeck decided to become self-sufficient in renewable energy by 2030 implementing over 150 actions based on an approach to link people and profits and transforming an old army munitions site into a sustainable energy park.

“We are proud to have received this award. It’s a big ‘yes’ to continue our way. We have been working on this project for the past 10 years and we are not at the end yet. This prize gives us the motivation to continue,” on behalf of Bio.Energy.Parc.Saerbeck Guido Wallraven said.

PUBLIC SECTOR: PEACE Alps

Project supports Alpine authorities in making the transition to a low-carbon area. Involving more than 200 municipalities across 6 countries, PEACE_Alps focuses on energy management, building renovation and public lighting. It also helps authorities overcome barriers in implementing their strategic action plans.

“Have a good project that is a good idea, with a good team behind it. We have been lucky at PEACE_Alps with such a team. It’s about the spirit of the people and believing in the change and transition,” Silvio De Nigris accepting the award on behalf of PEACE_Alps said.

BUSINESSES: WiseGRID

Funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme, WiseGRID has developed a set of 9 solutions to improve the electricity grid and empower customers, by making the grid smarter, open and more consumer orientated.

“It’s very exciting. We are very happy about both our awards – from the jury and especially the citizens’ Award – this means that it’s not just the technology which is ready to help the energy transition but society is also willing to embrace the energy transition,” said Antonio Marques accepting the award for WiseGRID.

YOUNG ENERGY LEADERS: Czech Sustainable Houses

What began as an online hub providing information on sustainability, developed into an annual architectural competition inspiring young architects to lead the way in energy transition with their innovative, energy-saving designs.
“This award is for all the people that worked on Czech Sustainable Houses project. We started this project four years ago and we’ve created the largest student architecture competition. We also created a new system for energy management and households. We’re just a little grassroots organisation, but we’re dynamic,” explained Pavel Podruh, Czech Sustainable Houses project on hearing that his project won.

Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources (CCRES)