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eneWaBle enerGIes In the eUropean UnIon
58 Renewable Energy Sources in Figures
As well as the national target, the Directive lays down a uniform target for renewable energy
in the transport sector of at least 10 % of energy consumption. Thus in addition to bio fuels,
the Member States can also count electricity from renewable energies that is used for rail
traffic or electric vehicles.
For achieving the national targets, the Directive largely puts its faith in national promotion
programmes. The Member States are free in the design of their promotion system, so that
they can exploit their potential in the best possible way. In addition, the Directive introduces
flexible cooperation mechanisms which give Member States the opportunity to cooperate if
necessary to meet their targets. These cooperation mechanisms are: statistical transfer of surpluses
of renewable energy, joint projects for promoting renewable energy, or (partial) merging
of national promotion systems of two or more Member States.
The Directive provides that the Member States shall approve national action plans for
achieving their targets, and shall submit regular progress reports to the Commission until
2020. It also requires that electricity from renewable sources is to be given priority access to
the grid and defines – for the first time – sustainability requirements for the production of
biomass for use as energy. However, the sustainability criteria in the Directive apply only to
biofuels and biogenic liquid fuels. In February 2010 the European Commission presented a
report on sustainability criteria for gaseous and solid bioenergy. Unlike the binding sustainability
criteria in the directive, however, the report merely contains recommendations for
the Member States.
The Directive introduces the first overall legislation in the EU for all sectors of renewable energy:
power, heat/cold, and transport. The Directive will thus replace the existing EU-wide
provisions on the promotion of renewable energy, which are due to expire on 1.1.2012, the
EU Directive on the promotion of renewable energy sources in the electricity market, and the
Biofuels Directive. The Electricity Directive which came into force in 2001 provides for an increase
in the percentage of electricity generation due to renewable energy from 14 % in 1997
to 21 % by 2010 in the EU-25. The Biofuels Directive lays down a target of 5.75 % for biofuels
as a percentage of fuel consumption in 2010.
The new, all-embracing EU Directive on the promotion of renewable energy sources creates a
reliable EU-wide legal framework for the necessary investments and thereby lays the foundations
for continuing successful expansion of renewable energy up to 2020.