Amendments to the Renewable Energy Directive
Proposal for Amendments for the Revision of RED III
REPowerEU includes a Biomethane Action Plan to increase EU production to 35bcm by 2030 to accelerate the EU’s energy independence while boosting the green transition. As per EUROSTAT waste statistics for the EU27 for 2020, generation of vegetal waste (bio-waste) was 53.8 million tons; this translates into 4.304 million cubic metres of biomethane, making bio-waste a significant source of the targeted biomethane. Key renewable energy sources such as biomethane require better and thorough recognition for their role in reducing dependence on Russian or other fossil fuels and in fast forwarding the green transition. The proposed amendments below seek to address and correct these omissions.
Definitions, Article 2:
Amendment 1, Article 2.28, correction:
| Commission Proposal |
| ‘biogas’ means gaseous fuels produced from biomass; |
| Amendments |
| ‘biogas’ means gaseous fuels produced from and biomass including separately collected bio-waste (as per Art.2.29 below); |
- Justification:
Bio-waste is not the same as biomass from agriculture or forestry and is used directly as collected, there is no processing into a fuel before treatment in an Anaerobic Digestion plant.
Amendment 2, correcting and replacing Article 2.29.
| Commission Proposal |
| ‘bio-waste’ means bio-waste as defined in point (4) of Article 3 of Directive 2008/98/EC; |
| Amendments |
| ‘bio-waste’, for the purposes of this Directive, means separately collected cooked and uncooked food waste from households, restaurants, caterers and retail premises and comparable waste from food processing plants treated in Anaerobic Digestion plants to generate energy and digestate and separately collected biodegradable garden and park waste, shredded and directly mixed with the digestate in an aerobic co-composting process; |
- Justification:
As this is not a Directive that focuses on waste and is therefore directed to a wider audience, clarification of the meaning of bio-waste for the purposes of this Directive is necessary to ensure the clear understanding that food waste is bio-waste that is separately collected from small and large producers and treated in Anaerobic Digestion plants. It is necessary to also clarify that the digestate issuing from the Anaerobic Digestion process is treated via an aerobic co-composting process with separately collected ligno-cellulosic material from public and private gardens to form a compost with slow-release high nutrient content which, when applied to soil, results in the capture and storage of 30 kilograms of Carbon per ton of compost. If bio-waste is not treated with Anaerobic Digestion and, as still frequently, it is landfilled or dumped untreated, the GHG emissions will be 1 ton of CO2e (as Methane) for every ton of bio-waste landfilled. As a large proportion of untreated EU bio-waste is generated in central, eastern and southern Member States which do not have any or sufficient Anaerobic Digestion capacity for the treatment of bio-waste, assuming this proportion is 50% for 2020 (EU27) that would equal 26.9 million tons of CO2e GHG emissions per year. Emissions which would be saved by correcting the RED as below to ensure GHG credits and the availability of financial support for new investments in Anaerobic Digestion for bio-waste.
Amendment 3, Article 29, Title:
| Commission Proposal | Amendments |
Sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria for biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels | Sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria for bio-waste, biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels |
- Justification:
Bio-waste is not a biofuel, bioliquid or a fuel from biomass and as such must have a separate mention.
Amendment 4, Article 29.1:
| Commission Proposal | Amendments |
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: | Energy from bio-waste, 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: |
- Justification:
For both Amendments 3 and 4 above, it is crucial to the success of this Directive that bio-waste is specifically mentioned, whereas in the existing versions of the RED it is not. This results in the current undervaluing and misinterpretation of this energy source and its GHG savings potential. Separately collected bio-waste and food waste treated in AD plants are not to be confused with fuels made from mixed waste. These are different types of waste that are not eligible for treatment in AD plants.
Amendment 5, Article 29.2:
| Commission Proposal | Amendments |
Biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from waste and residues derived not from forestry but from agricultural land shall be taken into account for the purposes referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 only where operators or national authorities have monitoring or management plans in place in order to address the impacts on soil quality and soil carbon. Information about how those impacts are monitored and managed shall be reported pursuant to Article 30(3). | Biofuels, bioliquids, separately collected biowaste and biomass fuels produced from waste and residues derived not from forestry but from agricultural land or municipal, commercial or industrial waste shall be taken into account for the purposes referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 only where operators or national authorities have monitoring or management plans in place in order to address the impacts on soil quality and soil carbon. Information about how those impacts are monitored and managed shall be reported pursuant to Article 30(3). |
- Justification:
Bio-waste is treated in Anaerobic Digestion plants without the need for preparation into a fuel and is not mentioned as such elsewhere in this Directive. Also not mentioned elsewhere in this Directive is the fact that bio-waste stems from the municipal, commercial and industrial waste streams. It is not only residues from agriculture and forestry management and therefore needs to be clearly mentioned in this Directive. This is of particular importance for renewable energy generation, bio-waste management and soil regeneration in Southern and Eastern Member States and Regions where the fraction of bio-waste in total waste generated can be as high as 70%. With Article 29 as a basis, the baseline taken for the calculation of GHG emissions savings for manure is: Volatile Solids Reduction in AD treatment of 43%. To give the correct valuation to bio-waste (food waste), the baseline taken for the calculation of GHG emissions savings for bio-waste should take into account data from actual treatment facilities, where the percentage of Volatile Solids Removal is between 40-70 (DRANCO) and 65-85 (SEBAC). We propose the conservative figure of 60% as a baseline in order to address both technological options. In view of legislative targets and goals to achieve a circular economy, a circular bioeconomy and selfsufficiency in energy production, notably from renewable energy sources, bio-waste, whether manure or food waste, should be treated in this directive as a resource, i.e. as a substitute for Natural Gas. This methodology looks at the energy generation potential of the renewable energy source taking this as the baseline for GHG savings potential as compared to fossil Natural Gas (including emissions from extraction) rather than taking other waste treatment methods, lower down the waste hierarchy or illegal dumping, as the baseline. In addition to the carbon sequestration and environmental restoration in agriculture, compost from separately collected bio-waste (same for compost from direct composting and co-composting of digestate) can substitute the use of Peat and conventional mineral fertilisers on a large scale in organic and regenerative farming and horticulture in the long term. Stated in this document, the GHG emission savings per avoided unit of peat amounts to 0.823kg CO2e per kg and the GHG emission savings by substitution of NPK mineral fertilisers range between 5.290 kg CO2e per kg (N) and 0,380 kg CO2e per kg (P) of compost. This should be added to the GHG savings for Anaerobic Digestion of separately collected bio-waste with co-composting of the digestate with shredded garden waste followed by application to soil.
Amendment 6: Annex VI, Rules For Calculating The Greenhouse Gas Impact Of Biomass Fuels And Their Fossil Fuel Comparators, pages 176 to 178
Biogas for Electricity
| Biogas production system | Technological option | GHG emissions savings – typical value | GHG emissions savings – default value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Manure | Case 1 | Open digestate | 47% | 26% |
| Close digestate | 84% | 78% | ||
| Case 2 | Open digestate | 43% | 21% | |
| Close digestate | 77% | 68% | ||
| Case 3 | Open digestate | 38% | 14% | |
| Close digestate | 76% | 66% | ||
Bio-waste | Case 1 | Co-composting with garden waste1 | 190%3 | 179% |
| Close digestate2 | 84% | 78% | ||
| Case 2 | Co-composting with garden waste1 | 90%3 | 85%3 | |
| Close digestate2 | 77% | 68% | ||
| Case 3 | Co-composting with garden waste1 | 90%3 | 85%3 | |
| Close digestate2 | 76% | 66% | ||
1. Co-composting with garden waste’ takes place within or directly adjacent to the AD facility after which it is applied to soil (agriculture also organic, forestry, other to combat desertification) for further Carbon Capture and Use/Storage (3% CCU/S). The carbon is used by the organisms in the soil to regenerate the soil. This also reduces watering need by up to 90%. The GHG savings values are increased assuming natural gas as the baseline and including the savings from application of compost to soil due to the substitution of mineral fertilizers, the substitution of peat and humus reproduction.
2. ‘Close Digestate’, meaning storage in a closed tank with collection and use of additional biogas emissions before application to land in accordance with a schedule of nutrient application. This practice is used mostly in Scandinavia in accordance with local regulations as it is considered that their soils are not in need of organic matter.
3. Same values given as for manure for Close Digestate as the baseline comparison for bio-waste has been changed to a comparison with natural gas fossil fuels meaning they will be treated as an alternative and renewable source of energy. For co-composting with garden waste, the values have been modified to reflect the real GHG emissions savings of applying the resulting compost to soil (30kg Carbon Capture and Storage for every ton of compost from bio-waste applied).
Biomethane for Transport:
| Biogas production system | Technological option | GHG emissions savings – typical value | GHG emissions savings – default value |
|---|---|---|---|
Wet Manure | Open digestate, no off-gas combustion | 117% | 72% |
| Open digestate, off-gas combustion | 133% | 92% | |
| Close digestate, no off-gas combustion | 190% | 179% | |
| Close digestate, off-gas combustion | 206% | 202% | |
Bio-waste | Open digestate, no off-gas combustion (Scandinavia) | 117% | 72% |
| Co-composting with garden waste1 | 280% | 249% | |
| Close digestate, no off-gas combustion (Scandinavia)2 | 190% | 179% | |
| Close digestate, off-gas combustion (Scandinavia)2 | 206% | 202% |
1. ‘Co-composting with garden waste’ takes place within or directly adjacent to the AD facility after which it is applied to soil (agriculture also organic, forestry, other to combat desertification) for further Carbon Capture and Use/Storage (3% CCU/S). The carbon is used by the organisms in the soil to regenerate the soil. This also reduces watering need by up to 90%. The GHG savings values take the existing values for manure and assume natural gas as the baseline while reflecting the savings from application of compost to soil due to the substitution of mineral fertilizers, the substitution of peat and humus reproduction. 2. ‘Close Digestate’, meaning storage in a closed tank with collection and use of additional biogas emissions before application to land in accordance with a schedule of nutrient application. This practice is used mostly in Scandinavia in accordance with local regulations as it is considered that their soils are not in need of organic matter. 3. Same values given as for manure for Close Digestate as the baseline comparison for bio-waste has been changed to a comparison with natural gas fossil fuels meaning they will be treated as an alternative and renewable source of energy. For co-composting with garden waste, the values have been modified to reflect the real GHG emissions savings of applying the resulting compost to soil (30kg Carbon Capture and Storage for every ton of compost from bio-waste applied).
- Justification:
The terminology is changed from ‘open digestate off-gas combustion’ to ‘co-composting with garden waste’ because the former does not describe existing practice. The GHG savings values are increased as compared to the current RED III proposal, taking natural gas as the baseline (not composting) and including the savings from application of compost to soil and from replacing peat with compost. In the absence of correct data and a complete impact assessment, the values given for bio-waste must be at least the same as those given for manure. In the tables above we have included a value for the additional GHG savings achieved through application of co-composted digestate to soil. We recognise that RED IV is a revision on the sustainability of each renewable source of energy and as such we consider it necessary and appropriate for the baseline and data on bio-waste to be analysed and represented in the same manner as for manure.
Thank you for your consideration of these key Amendments,
Vanya Veras,
Secretary General
