6 Renewable Energy Progress Report
| (34815)
8098/13
COM(13) 175
| Commission Report on renewable energy progress
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| Legal base | —
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| Document originated | 27 March 2013
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| Deposited in Parliament | 5 April 2013
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| Department | Energy and Climate Change
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 19 April 2013
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| Previous Committee Report | None, but see footnote
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| Discussion in Council | No date set
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Not cleared; Opinion sought from the Energy and Climate Change Committee under Standing Order No. 143 (11)
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Background
6.1 The Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC sets out requirements
for securing renewable energy a 20% share of EU final consumption
by 2020 (together with a 10% share in transport), with each Member
State being set mandatory individual targets.[36]
The Directive also requires measures to be taken to address the
administrative barriers faced by renewable energy projects, together
with improvements to the rules and operation of the electricity
grid in order to improve access for renewable electricity, and
it establishes a comprehensive sustainability scheme for biofuels
and bioliquids, with compulsory monitoring and reporting requirements.
The current document
6.2 Each Member State is required under the Directive to report
to the Commission every two years on its progress towards the
2020 target, and the purpose of this document is to assess that
progress, and to report on the sustainability of biofuels and
bioliquids consumed in the EU.
Progress in renewable energy development
6.3 The Report notes that most Member States have experienced
a significant growth in renewable energy, with the shares of 20
Member States and the EU as a whole in 2010 being at or above
the level of their commitments, and above the first interim target
for 2011-12. However, it warns that the outlook for 2020 is less
optimistic, due to the economic crisis (and associated impact
on the cost of capital for infrastructure projects), ongoing administrative
and infrastructure barriers, and disruptions to policy and support
schemes. As a result, it says that further measures will need
to be taken by Member States.
6.4 The Report also gives details of sectoral
developments, noting the shortfalls now anticipated in the deployment
of both onshore and offshore wind power and in biomass and biofuels
compared with original expectations, the only exception to this
being solar power, where substantial cost reductions in the past
few years have led to a surplus against expected deployment, which
is due to be sustained at least in the short to medium term.
Policy measures
6.5 The Report identifies the market failures
across the EU which have acted as a barrier to the delivery of
renewable energy, and the policy interventions which are required
— and have been implemented — to remedy these. It
expresses concern that many Member States have taken insufficient
action to address administrative barriers, particularly in relation
to planning and permitting, pointing out that sub-optimal processes
can significantly increase the costs of renewable energy deployment.
It says that the Commission will continue to investigate Member
States' removal of these barriers, and will launch infringement
proceedings where they have failed to act. It also notes the importance
of grid infrastructure, and the urgent need for investment in
this and for updated electricity grid operations (including the
arrangements and cost sharing rules for using the grid,
where it says that, despite the progress made by most Member States
in both areas, more needs to be done).
6.6 The report draws attention to the current
variety of renewable energy support schemes operated by
Member States, and says that the Commission has been preparing,
in consultation with Member States, guidance (which is due to
be published later in 2013) on best practice for achieving cost
effective and consistent schemes, with the aim of ensuring that
any market interventions address failures without adding or maintaining
distortions. In addition, the Commission says it will promote
a common, European approach to offshore wind development.
Sustainability of biofuels
6.7 The report notes that the bulk of EU biofuels
production and consumption is dominated by five
Member States,[37]
and sets out details of the sources of biofuels consumed in the
EU in 2010. It also highlights the fact that the Commission's
scrutiny of Member States' transposition of the biofuel
sustainability criteria has exposed some gaps, and that legal
proceedings have begun to ensure that effective sustainability
regimes are in place in all Member States. At the same time, 13
"voluntary schemes" for certifying the sustainability
of biofuels have been approved by the Commission, enabling biofuel
producers around the world to comply with high EU standards.
6.8 The report also notes that the Commission's
monitoring of specific measures for air, soil and water protection
found that current EU practices under agricultural and environmental
legislation apply to biofuel feedstock production, and that additional
specific measures are not required (although it comments that,
as the pressure on agricultural resources increases, it will be
important to ensure that the measures in place continue to be
adequate). The report also highlights a number of other key findings
about biofuels, covering issues such as global and EU usage; the
impact of demand on land use and prices; and the estimated carbon
dioxide savings associated with biofuels use. However, it points
out that the latter do not currently include the effect of indirect
agricultural intensification or indirect land use change, which
might significantly reduce the savings. It adds that this is particularly
relevant for the "first generation", often food crop-based,
biofuels, which are likely to have the highest indirect land use
impact, and that this lay behind the amendments[38]
it has proposed to the Fuel Quality Directive and Renewable Energy
Directive, which seek to take fuller account of those effects.
The Government's view
6.9 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 19 April
2013, the Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change (Edward
Davey) says that the report does not have any direct policy implications
for the UK, which he suggests has so far made steady progress
against the requirements of the Directive, with renewable energy
overall having increased from a starting-point of 1.3% in 2005
to 3.8% in 2011. He adds that the UK has taken a robust line on
the sustainability of biofuels, ensuring that those used in the
UK meet the Commission's criteria, and that it believes the most
appropriate way to address indirect land use change issues is
through the introduction of mandatory factors into greenhouse
gas calculations.
6.10 The Minister draws attention to the UK's
programme of Electricity Market Reform, which the Government is
seeking to introduce through the Energy Bill, and which aims to
ensure that the UK remains a leading destination for investment
in low-carbon electricity. He also notes that the introduction
of a fast-track planning regime for major infrastructure on 1
March 2010 under the Planning Act 2008 was an important step in
addressing administrative barriers in the UK, in that it sets
deadlines for determination of planning applications, including
renewable generation infrastructure of more than 50MW onshore
or 100 MW offshore, with the Renewables National Policy Statement,
approved by Parliament in July 2011, setting out how policy on
renewables should be applied to such applications.
Conclusion
6.11 This document addresses a subject of
some topical interest, and highlights a number of policy areas
where further action may be needed in the not too distant future,
and consequently we think it right to draw it to the attention
of the House. As it is essentially a progress report, we think
it unlikely that it raises issues which require further consideration
at this stage, but, before taking a definitive view on this, we
would welcome the formal Opinion of the Energy and Climate Change
Committee under Standing Order No. 143 (11). In the meantime,
the document remains under scrutiny.
36 For the UK, these are 15% renewable energy overall
and 10% for transport. Back
37
France, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK. Back
38
(34342) 5189/12: see HC 86-xxi (2012-13), chapter 8 (28 November
2012). Back
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