Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament - The Renewable Energy Progress Report - Commission Report in accordance with Article 3 of Directive 2001/77/EC, Article 4(2) of Directive 2003/30/EC and on the implementation of the EU Biomass Action Plan, COM(2005)628 {SEC(2009) 503 final}
Date: 2009-04-24
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: action programme, bioenergy, biomass, energy policy, energy production, environmental protection

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 24.4.2009 
COM(2009) 192 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

The Renewable Energy Progress Report:  
Commission Report in accordance with Article 3 of Directive 2001/77/EC, Article 4(2) of 
Directive 2003/30/EC and on the implementation of the EU Biomass Action Plan, 
COM(2005)628 

{SEC(2009) 503 final} 

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INTRODUCTION 

1. 
In 1997 the Commission published a White Paper on renewable energy1 which announced a 
target to double the European Union's renewable energy share to 12% by 2010. The creation 
of  this  renewable  energy  policy  was  founded  on  the  need  to  address  sustainability concerns 
surrounding climate change and air pollution, improve the security of Europe's energy supply 
and develop Europe's competitiveness and industrial and technological innovation. The White 
Paper also announced a renewable energy strategy and action plan, highlighting the need to 
develop  all  renewable  energy  resources,  create  stable  policy  frameworks  and  improve 
planning regimes and electricity grid access for renewable energy.  

A key element of the action plan was the establishment of European legislation to provide a 
stable  policy  framework  and  clarify  the  expected  development  of  renewable  energy  in  each 
Member State. The two key pieces of legislation (Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC) set 
indicative  2010  targets  for  all  Member  States  and  required  actions  to  improve  the  growth, 
development and access of renewable energy. In addition, a Biomass Action Plan was adopted 
in  20052  to  focus  attention  on  the  specific  need  for  Member  States  to  develop  Europe's 
biomass resources. 

Regular  assessments  and  reports  have  been  prepared  on  the  EU's  progress  towards  its  2010 
targets and on its efforts in general to develop renewable energy. The reports issued in 2007 
as  well  as  the  Renewable  Energy  Roadmap3,  highlighted  the  slow  progress  Member  States 
were making and the likelihood that the EU as a whole would fail to reach its 2010 target. The 
Roadmap explained possible reasons for this, which included the merely indicative nature of 
the national targets and the uncertain investment environment provided by the existing legal 
framework.  The  Commission  therefore  proposed  a  new,  more  rigorous  framework  to  drive 
forward  the  development  of  renewable  energy  and  more  solid,  legally  binding  targets  for 
2020.  Following  wide  public  consultation  in  2007  and  the  endorsement  of  the  European 
Council4  and  Parliament,5  the  Commission  proposed  new  legislation  covering  all  renewable 
energy and set new targets for 2020 to ensure a stable regulatory framework for the decade 
ahead. This new Renewable Energy Directive has now been agreed6. 

The  purpose  of  this  report  is  to  provide  information  on  progress  since  the  2007  reports,  as 
required  under  the  two  current  Directives  (2001/77/EC  and  2003/30/EC),  focusing  on  data 
from  2004  to  2006  or  20077.  The  report  also  sets  the  scene for  the  future  by  describing  the 
state  of  progress  in  developing  renewable  energy  today  and  explaining  how  the  new 
framework  will  drive  forward  the  growth  of  renewable  energy,  including  biomass,  in  the 
immediate years ahead.  

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

7 

COM(1997)599 "Energy for the future: renewable sources of energy" 
COM(2005)628 "Biomass Action Plan" 
COM(2006)848 "Renewable Energy Roadmap 
Council of the European Union conclusions Doc. 7224/1/07 REV 1, 2 May 2007 
European Parliament report A6-0287/2007, 20/07/2007 
In  parallel  the  Commission  modified  the  Community  Guidelines  on  state  aid  for  environmental 
protection  (OJ  C  82,  1.4.2008  p1).  Moreover  the  General  Block  Exemption  Regulation  (OJ  L  214, 
9.8.2008 p3) allows block exemptions under certain conditions. Both measures are relevant for state aid 
for renewable energy. 
Biofuels  data  exist  for  2007,  but  consistent  2007  electricity  data  does  not  yet  exist  for  all  Member 
States. For this reason, the latest, 2006, Eurostat data are used for electricity.  

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2. 

ELECTRICITY FROM RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES 

Article 3(4) of Directive 2001/77/EC requires the Commission to publish biannual reports on 
its assessment of Member States' progress towards their national indicative renewable energy 
targets. The last report8 highlighted that whilst good progress had been made in recent years, 
the EU was expected to reach a renewable electricity share of 19% by 2010 rather than the 
21%9 target. It found that so far the bulk of growth had come from wind power in a limited 
number  of  Member  States.  Moreover  it  noted  that  it  had  been  necessary  to  initiate 
infringement proceedings against some Member States. 

Since that report, growth rates of green electricity have increased: Eurostat data shows a share 
of 15.7%10 for the EU in 2006, up from 14.5% in 2004, however Commission analysis still 
suggests the 2010 21% target will not be reached without significant additional effort.  

The progress made towards the 2010 target (columns and left hand axis) and the change 
in Member State's renewable electricity shares 2004-2006 (points, right hand axis). 

Austria

Cyprus

France

Latvia

Malta

Portugal

Romania

Slovenia

Finland

Greece

Lithuania

Slovakia

Bulgaria

Czech. R.
Spain

Poland

Estonia

UK EU Sweden
Italy

Luxembourg
Netherlands
Denmark
Belgium
Ireland

Hungary

4%

2%

0%

-2%

-4%

-6%

-8%

-10%

140%

120%

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

Austria

Cyprus

France

Latvia

Portugal
Malta

Romania

Slovenia

Finland

Lithuania
Greece

Slovakia

Bulgaria
Czech. R.

Spain

Poland

Estonia UK EU

Sweden

Ireland
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Denmark
Belgium
Italy

Hungary

Germany

Source: based on normalised Eurostat 2006 data and 2010 targets 

From  the  above  graph  it  is  clear  that  Member  States  span  the  full  breadth  of  performance: 
Hungary and Germany11 have already reached their target, whereas several countries still have 
to  make  all  their  efforts  in  the  next  two  years,  highlighting  the  need  to  take  quick  and 
effective action to begin development. With six member States increasing their shares by over 
2 percentage points  (Germany,  for instance,  increasing from 10.6% to 12.6%), over the last 
two years the EU share of renewable electricity has increased by almost 1.5 percentage points 
(14.4%  to  15.7%).  However  this  disguises  the  poor  recent  efforts  of  some  seven  countries 
whose shares have stagnated or actually declined12.  

8 
9 

10 

11 
12 

COM(2006)849 "Report on progress in renewable energy". 
This is a 21% target for electricity from renewable energy sources in 2010. It is not to be confused with 
the 2020 target established by the new Directive on renewable energy, which is for a 20% share of all 
energy  (not  just  electricity).  Commission  estimates  suggest  that  this  overall  20%  share  in  2020  will 
require around a 33% share of renewable energy in the electricity sector. 
Based  on  normalised  hydropower  following  a  methodology  of  Eurostat  (which  may  differ  from  the 
methods applied in some Member States). 
However Hungary's share of renewable electricity actually declined between 2005 and 2006. 
Although  the  case  of  Latvia  is  driven  more  by  rapidly  rising  electricity  demand  than  by  the  slight 
decline in electricity production from renewable energy sources. 

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The growth of renewable electricity has been driven by a small number of Member States and 
the range of technologies used13 has also been limited: 

Source:  "Promotion  and  growth  of  renewable  energy  sources  and  systems"  Final  Report,  Ecofys  et  al. 
(hydropower excluded) 

It is clear that the greatest growth has occurred in the use of solid biomass and in wind. When 
the national breakdown of these technologies is examined, it is again clear that a few Member 
States  are  responsible  for  the  bulk  of  the  EU's  progress,  with  other  Member  States  making 
limited or even no progress at all.  

RES-E 2006 breakdown

_
]
r
a
e
y
/
h
W
T
[
n
o
i
t
a
r
e
n
e
g
y
t
i
c
i
r
t
c
e
l
E

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

AT BE BG CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GR HU IE IT LT LU LV MT NL PL PT RO SE SI SK UK

Biogas
Wind on-shore

Solid biomass
Wind off-shore

Biowaste
Hydro small-scale

Geothermal electricity
Hydro large-scale

Photovoltaics

Source: "Promotion and growth of renewable energy sources and systems" Final Report, Ecofys et al. 

Reasons for differing rates of progress 

2.1. 
Earlier analysis of Member States' different support schemes14 shows that stability is a critical 
feature of an effective system, in order to facilitate investment. Consequently, "stop-and-go" 
regimes that run out of budget, as well as policy and rule changes hamper the development of 
renewable electricity. Despite some improvements, such as the development of premium feed 
in  tariffs  and  more  detailed  technology  banding,  it  remains  essential  to  improve  support 
schemes, particularly for those Member States with slow rates of progress. 

Several non-cost related barriers are also significant constraints on the growth of renewable 
electricity.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  Directive  2001/77/EC  requires  actions  to  be  taken  to 

13 

Hydropower has been almost constant and is excluded from the graph of the growth. 

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improve  consumer  information  (the  creation  of  guarantees  of  origin),  reform  administrative 
procedures and ensure better grid access for renewable electricity. 

Examination of the guarantee of origin regime reveals that it has still not been implemented 
fully  by  all  Member  States,  with  problems  of  reliability,  double  counting  and  the  risk  of 
disclosure of the same energy to two different groups of consumers. This has undermined the 
consumer  market  for  renewable  electricity  in  general;  a  market  which  could  have  been  a 
further source of revenues and hence investment. 

Whilst  Directive  2001/77/EC  allows  Member  States  to  agree  to  transfers  of  guarantees  of 
origin to count towards another Member State's target (enabling a member State to reach its 
target more cost effectively), no such agreements have been established and no such transfers 
have occurred.  

The  administrative  procedures  associated  with  planning  and  developing  renewable  energy 
capacity  have  been  the  subject  of  careful  examination  in  previous  Commission  reports14. 
However  little  progress  appears  to  have  been  made  on  any  of  the  Commission's 
recommendations  of  administrative  reforms.  Procedures  continue  to  be  complicated,  with 
multiple  authorities  requiring  consultation  when  applying  for  construction,  development  or 
environmental permits. Surveys suggest that the time lags involved and the uncertainty of the 
process remain major bottlenecks.  

The problems of gaining connection to the electricity grid often result from a lack of adequate 
rules on grid connection and from a failure to dedicate sufficient administrative resources to 
process applications. Technical problems are also disruptive, with limited capacity of the grid 
to incorporate more variable renewable electricity and a general lack of strategy to address the 
problem.  There  are  also  financial  constraints,  with  different,  and  often  opaque  connection 
charging  rules  and  risk  of  discrimination  against  smaller  distributed  power  generators 
compared to large incumbent conventional energy producers.  

The issues associated with grid access highlight the role that large power producers play in the 
less  than  perfectly  competitive  internal  market.  The  inadequacies  of  the  energy  market 
highlighted  recently  in  the  Commission's  third  internal  energy  market  package15  have  also 
contributed  to  the  difficulties  for  producers  of  renewable  electricity  to  gain  access  to  the 
market and to compete fairly. This issue has also been addressed by the Commission and the 
timely adoption and implementation of the package will ensure significant steps are taken to 
level the energy market playing field. 

2.2. 

Infringement procedures   

The  above  reasons  for  the  slow  progress  in  developing  renewable  electricity  are  not  new. 
Directive  2001/77/EC  addresses  them  explicitly.  However,  despite  the  Directive  and  the 
monitoring  and  guidance  of  the  European  Commission,  some  Member  States  have  failed  to 
take  adequate  measures.  Since  2004,  the  Commission  has  been  obliged  to  start  61  legal 
proceedings against Member States for non-compliance with the Directive. Italy has had the 
most  cases,  with  13,  followed  by  Spain  with  6,  Austria  with  4  and  the  Czech  Republic, 
France, Latvia and Poland with 3 each. Of these 61 cases, 16 have not yet been resolved. The 
European  Commission  will  continue  to  monitor  Member  States'  compliance  with  the 
Directive  and  will  open  infringement  cases wherever  necessary.  However  the  poor  progress 

14 
15 

SEC(2008)57 "The support of electricity from renewable energy sources". 
Including COM(2007)531 "A Proposal for a Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1228/2003 on 
conditions for access to the network for cross-border exchanges in electricity."  

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and  number  of  infringement  proceedings  also  implies  that  the  legal  framework  is  not 
sufficiently strong. This is one reason for the new Directive on renewable energy. 

3. 

RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE TRANSPORT SECTOR 

The  Directive  on  renewable  energy  in  transport  (Directive  2003/30/EC)  required  Member 
States to set targets for the share of renewable energy replacing petrol and diesel in transport 
in  2005  and  2010,  taking  as  their  starting  point  reference  values  of  2%  and  5.75% 
respectively. It is known as the "Biofuels Directive" since in practice, biofuels are expected to 
contribute all but a tiny proportion of the renewable energy used in this sector up to 2010. 
The progress report of January 200716 showed that in 2005, biofuels achieved a share of 1% in 
the EU, with only Germany and Sweden reaching the reference targets.  

The progress made towards the national 2010 targets (columns and left hand axis) and the 
change in Member State's renewable transport fuel shares 2004-2006 (points, right hand 
axis). 

Czech Rep
Finland

Latvia

Italy

Cyprus

Estonia

Denmark

Hungary 
Poland

Ireland

Romania
Spain

UK Belgium

Greece

Luxembourg
Netherlands
Slovenia
EU 27

Slovakia

Portugal

France

Sweden

Austria

Lithuania

Bulgaria
Malta

Germany

120%

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

5

0

-5

-10

-15

-20

-25

-30

-35

-40

-45

-50

Czech Rep

Finland

Latvia

Italy
Cyprus

Estonia

Denmark

Hungary 

Poland

Romania
Ireland

Spain UK

Belgium

Greece

Luxembourg
Slovakia
Slovenia
Netherlands
EU 27

Portugal

France

Sweden

Austria
Lithuania

Bulgaria

Germany
Malta

Source: Member States 2006 and 2007 reports, and EurObserver Biofuels Barometer 

Biofuels production progressed much faster in 2006 and 2007 than in earlier years. In 2007 
the  use  of  biofuels  in  road  transport  was  2.6%  (8.1  Mtoe).  Biofuels'  share  grew  by  1.6 
percentage  points  between  2005  and  2007,  compared  with  0.5  percentage  points  between 
2003 and 2005. If growth continues at this rate, a share of 5% will be achieved in 2010.  

In  2007  biodiesel  accounted  for  75%  (6.1  Mtoe)  of  renewable  fuels  in  transport,  of  which 
26%  was  imported.  Bioethanol  constituted  15%  (1.24  Mtoe),  of  which  31%  was  imported. 
The  remaining  10%  was  pure  vegetable  oil  consumed  in  Germany,  Ireland  and  the 
Netherlands  and  biogas  in  Sweden.  There  was  no  reported  consumption  of  other  types  of 
renewable  energy  in  transport.  The  use  of  hydrogen  from  any  source  remains  insignificant; 
little electricity from renewable energy sources is used in road transport.  

Imported  bioethanol  has  played  a  significant  role  on  the  European  market  for  some  time, 
reflecting  lower  production  costs  of  tropical  sugar  cane  ethanol  notably  in  Brazil.  Net 
bioethanol  imports  increased  from  171  Ktoe  in  2005  to  397  Ktoe  in  2007.  The  EU  trade 
balance of biodiesel changed from positive in 2005 (355 Ktoe exported) to negative in 2007 
(1.8 Mtoe of biodiesel imported). A major cause of this change was cheaper soy oil methyl 
ester from the United States. There was reason to believe that this pricing reflects the fact that 
the biofuel benefited from subsidies in the United States and undercut the prices (and even the 

16 

COM (2006)845 Biofuels Progress Report. 

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costs) of European production. On an official complaint from the European biodiesel industry 
the  European  Commission  started  a  formal  investigation  in  June  2008  and  in  March  2009 
imposed provisional anti-dumping duties and countervailing duties. 

3.1 

Reasons for differing rates of progress 

The more rapid development of biofuels since 2005 reflects the widespread development of 
support  systems  at  Member  State  level.  Tax  relief  and  biofuel  obligations  remain  the  two 
most  common  instruments  used  by  Member  States  to  promote  biofuels.  In  2005-2006  all 
Member  States,  except  Finland,  used  excise  tax  exemptions  as  the  main  support  measure, 
while  biofuel  obligations  were  only  used  by  3  countries.  Since  2007  more  than  half  of 
Member  States  have  adopted  obligations  to  blend,  in  most  cases  combined  with  partial  but 
increasing  levels  of  taxation.  Some  countries  use  a  quota  mechanism  and  tender.  This 
mechanism allows Governments to decide the amount of biofuels that has to be supplied each 
year, thus creating some regulation of the market.  

The  good  progress  resulting  from  tax  exemptions  and  new  measures  such  as  biofuels 
obligations are still in evidence today. The Member States which saw above-average progress 
in biofuel use between 2005 and 2007 (see above graph) reflect this. It can also be seen from 
the  graph  that  nine  Member  States  are  making  little  or  no  progress  towards  their  national 
targets, raising concern about whether those targets will in fact be achieved. 

3.2. 

Infringement procedures   

Since 2005, the Commission has started 62 legal proceedings against Member States for non-
compliance  with  the  Directive,  many  of  which  were  for  failure  to  comply  with  reporting 
obligations or failure to set national objectives incompliance with the references values of the 
Directive. Of these cases Italy, Greece and Finland have had the most with 5 each, followed 
by France, Denmark and Ireland with 4 and Hungary, Austria, Luxembourg, Portugal and the 
Slovak  Republic  with  3.  These  cases  have  been  successfully  resolved.  The  European 
Commission will continue to monitor Member States' progress towards their targets.  

3.3. 

Economic and environmental impacts  

Under the provisions of Directive 2003/30/EC, this progress report should cover a number of 
economic and environmental aspects associated with the development of biofuels. 

From  an  economic  point  of  view,  increased  use  of  biofuels  has  contributed  to  security  of 
supply by decreasing fossil fuel and diversifying fuel consumption in the EU. In 2007 the use 
of biofuels in the EU replaced 1593 million litres of gasoline and 7730 million litres of diesel. 
This  is  almost  3%  of  the  total  EU  fuel  consumption  in  road  transport.  With  the  2010  (and 
2020) targets this share will of course rise.  

Biomass  and  biofuel  sectors  have  also  contributed  to  the  EU  economy  by  generating 
additional  jobs.  In  2005,  non-grid  biomass  use  accounted  for  600,000  employees,  biomass 
grid and biofuels contributed over 100,000 employees and biogas around 50,000. In addition, 
agriculture and forestry play an important role in supplying the fuel for biomass technologies. 
Agricultural  activity  related  to  the  renewable  energy  sector  generates  gross  value  added  of 
well over €9bn per year 17.  

The net greenhouse gas savings achieved in the EU from biofuels placed on the market and 
consumed in 2006 and 2007 amounted to 9.7 and 14.0Mt CO2-eq18 respectively. This estimate 
takes into account that most EU biofuel consumption has been fulfilled through the re-use of 

17 
18 

Employ RES project, Fraunhofer ISI et al., forthcoming (commissioned by European Commission). 
The figure is derived by the JEC method. 

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recently abandoned agricultural land or through slowing down the rate of land abandonment 
in the EU. This is not necessarily true of imported biofuel or biofuel made from imported raw 
materials,  and  the  share  of  imported  biofuel  has  been  growing  (albeit  to  a  large  extent  as  a 
result  of  U.S.  subsidies  for  biodiesel  exports).  In  this  context,  the  Commission  is  currently 
analysing the issue of indirect land use change and possible policy responses.  

Biofuel  production  also  contributes  to  increased  intensification  of  agricultural  production  in 
the EU, which can increase pressure on the use of land with high biodiversity value and soil 
carbon stock and use of fertiliser. However it can also reduce the rate of land abandonment, 
with positive effects on erosion and fire prevention, landscape and biodiversity maintenance. 
Under the new Renewable Energy Directive and Fuel Quality Directive, economic operators 
and  Member  States  are  required  to  report  in  more  detail  on  land  use  change  and  other 
environmental impacts from increased production of biofuels. Further details of the analysis 
of  economic  and  environmental  effects  can  be  found  in  the  accompanying  staff  working 
document. 

While  this  analysis  confirms  the  positive  impact  of  the  policy  to  date,  it  is  essential  that 
planned  further  biofuels  growth  is  accompanied  by  sustainability  criteria.  Such  criteria  are 
included  in  the  new  Renewable  Energy  Directive  and  Fuel  Quality  Directive,  covering 
minimum requirements for greenhouse gas savings and requirements to avoid damaging land 
use change. 

3.4. 

Further measures needed in the transport sector  

In addition to biofuels policies, in the last two years the Community has taken a number of 
other initiatives to make the European transport sector greener. These include the CO2 from 
cars  regulation19  (for  reductions  in  passenger  car  emissions)  and  the  Directive  on  the 
Promotion of Clean and Energy Efficient Road Transport Vehicles20 (creating "green" public 
procurement  rules  for  vehicles).  In  2008  the  Commission  adopted  the  Greening  Transport 
strategy21 that should encourage the use of cleaner vehicles and improved logistics.  

Increasing the share of renewable energy use in transport and the energy efficiency of engine 
and vehicle technologies will remain key EU priorities, to reduce the high oil dependence in 
the transport sector. While progress is needed most rapidly in the road transport sector (due to 
its  size  and  rapid  growth  rate)  developments  in  other  modes,  notably  aviation,  are  also 
important.  

4. 

RENEWABLE ENERGY USED IN HEATING AND COOLING 

Whilst  not  covered  by  European  legislation,  a  complete  assessment  of  the  development  of 
renewable  energy  in  Europe  requires  that  the  heating  and  cooling  sector  is  also  evaluated. 
This sector is responsible for approximately 50% of all final energy consumption and 60% of 
all renewable final energy consumption. It is dominated by biomass, but also includes solar 
thermal and geothermal energy. 

Despite  the  relatively  high  share  of  renewable  energy  used  in  the  sector,  it  is  far  from 
achieving  its  potential.  Indeed,  heating  and  cooling  has  been  neglected  as  a  sector  for 
renewable energy growth in most Member States, partly as a result of the absence of a clear 
legislative framework and incentives as well as the existence of non-market barriers.  

19 

20 
21

On  17  December  2008  the  negotiations  to  adopt  a  Regulation  on  CO2  from  cars  were  successfully 
concluded at first reading. 
This was adopted by the European Council and the Parliament in October 2008.  
COM(2008)433. Communication on Greening Transport.  

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The share of renewable energy in the heating sector in 2006 (columns and left hand axis) 
and  the  (stagnant)  growth  between  2004  and  2006  for  all  but  three  Member  States 
(points, right hand axis). 

UK Luxembourg
Netherlands
Belgium
Ireland
Italy

EU Malta

Slovakia

Germany
Hungary
Cyprus

Czech. R.
Spain

Poland

Greece

France

Bulgaria

Romania

Slovenia
Austria

Denmark

Lithuania
Estonia

Portugal
Finland
Latvia

Sweden

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

10%

0%

-10%

-20%

-30%

-40%

-50%

EU

UK

Belgium
Malta
Luxembourg
Netherlands

Ireland

Italy
Germany
Slovakia

Hungary

Czech. R.
Cyprus

Spain

Poland

Greece

France

Bulgaria

Romania

Slovenia

Denmark
Austria

Lithuania

Estonia

Portugal

Finland

Latvia
Sweden

Source: Eurostat 

4.1. 

The role of the EU's bioenergy sector  

The  heating  and  cooling  sector  depends  on  different  renewable  energy  sources,  but  is 
dominated  by  the  use  of  biomass.  In  fact,  biomass  is  the  largest  single  renewable  energy 
source  in  absolute  terms  and  is  expected  to  contribute  to  around  two-thirds  of  the  expected 
renewable  energy  share  in  2020  (PRIMES22  projections)  in  terms  of  primary  energy 
consumption23.  Moreover  it  is  important  to  note  that  biomass  can  be  used  in  production  of 
heating, electricity as well as in the form of 'biofuels' i.e. the use of biomass in transport. This 
is why the EU produced the Biomass Action Plan (BAP) in 2005 which highlighted the need 
for coordination of policy, and why this report reviews progress in the biomass sector.  

In  2006,  88  Mtoe  of  biomass  was  consumed  for  energy  purposes  (primary  energy 
consumption) within the EU-27, representing an 8% increase from 2005. This achievement is 
still  a  long  way  from  reaching  the  EU's  biomass  potential  identified  in  the  EU  Biomass 
Action Plan, which estimated that biomass could contribute around 150 Mtoe of our energy 
needs by 2010.  

The  BAP  highlighted  33  actions  for  increasing  the  use  of  biomass  including  cross-cutting 
measures  affecting  biomass  supply,  financing  and  research24  and  the  production  of  national 
biomass  action  plans.  However  the  few  submitted  so  far25,  whilst  acknowledging  the 
importance  of  biomass,  differ  substantially,  making  comparisons  of  strategies  difficult,  and 
give limited consideration to the mobilisation of new biomass resources26.  

Problems confronting the growth of biomass include administrative and non market barriers, 
such  as  the  need  for  clearer  and  harmonised  definition  of  terms  (notably  for  biomass  and 
waste) and bottlenecks arising from long and legally complicated procedures for processing 

22 
23 

24 
25 
26 

SEC(2008)85 Annex to the Impact Assessment accompanying the 2008 energy and climate package. 
Primary  energy  consumption  refers  to  the  consumption  of  energy  sources  like  biomass  before 
conversion; final energy consumption refers to energy after conversion (electricity, heat, transport fuel). 
Explored further in the Staff Working Paper accompanying this report 
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/renewables/bioenergy/national_biomass_action_plans_en.htm  
Mobilisation  of  more  biomass  is  important  given  the  competition  for  uses  of  biomass,  in  particular 
wood, with wood processing industries. 

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permits (see the accompanying Staff Working Document for more detail). Such concerns will 
be addressed by the new Directive on renewable energy. It requires Member States to report 
on  their  plans  for  biomass  resource  development  (using  harmonised  data)  and  requires  the 
Commission to report on requirements for a sustainability scheme for energy uses of biomass 
and, if appropriate, to propose such a scheme.  

5. 

CONCLUSION 

Today more than ever, it is clear that the development of Europe's renewable energy resources 
is  a  crucial  element  in  the  battle  against  climate  change.  It  is  part  of  the  solution  in  the 
struggle  to  improve  the  security  and  reliability  of  our  energy  supply.  And,  in  the  current 
economic  situation,  the  development  of  renewable  energy  technology  industries  will  be  a 
welcome  source  of  wealth  and  job  creation.  It  is  for  these  reasons  that  the  European  Union 
developed a renewable energy policy, and adopted renewable energy legislation.  

This  report  has  reviewed  the  progress  made  in  developing  renewable  energy.  Its  analysis 
bears out the need for a stronger legal framework of the kind that the Community has recently 
decided to put in place in the form of the Renewable Energy Directive.  

Europe is still likely to fail to meet its 2010 renewable energy targets, despite the legislation, 
the  recommendations,  the  exhortations  and  even  legal  proceedings  against  some  Member 
States. That said, there has been limited recent progress. In the electricity sector new policy 
measures have resulted in substantial growth in some Member States, six of whom achieved 
an increase in their share of at least 2 percentage points since 2004. At the same time, seven 
Member States' renewable electricity shares have actually stagnated or shrunk since 2004. In 
the transport sector, quite a widespread change to the use of obligation measures rather than 
just taxation measures has contributed to an increase in the EU share of 1.6 percentage points 
since 2004, driven by growth in shares of over 2% in 7 Member States.  

Whilst  some  recent  progress  has  been  achieved,  the  rate  of  growth  remains  slow  and  the 
barriers to growth, across all sectors, remain high in most Member States. Europe is unlikely 
to  reach  either  the  target  for  the  share  of  electricity  from  renewable  energy  sources  or  the 
target for the share of renewable energy in transport. The European Commission will continue 
to take legal action to ensure compliance with the existing Directives and so improve progress 
towards the 2010 targets. 

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SUMMARY OF MEMBER STATES' PROGRESS IN DEVELOPING RENEWABLE ENERGY 

Electricity 

Biofuels 

2006 
share 
(%) 

2010 
target 
(%) 

recent 
growth 

progress 
made 

2007 
share 
(%) 

2010 
target 
(%) 

recent 
growth 

progress 
made 

8 

6 

6 

21 

29 

11 

4.2 

61.6 

78.1 

5.75 

8.6 

8.8 

3.6 

3.7 

0.2 

7.0 

1.2 

7.4 

3.6 

5.1 

1.5 

0.1 

0.5 

4.1 

0.1 

0.0 

2.5 

6.8 

1.1 

3.9 

5.75 

5.75 

5.75 

5.75 

5.75 

5.75 

5.75 

5.75 

5.75 

18.3 

12.6 

26.5 

12.5 

31.5 

13.2 

20.1 

14.3 

25.9 

Italy 

0 (2005) 

4.827 

0.1 (2006) 

Greece 

France 

Austria 

Cyprus 

Ireland 

Estonia 

Finland 

Belgium 

Bulgaria 

Hungary 

Denmark 

Germany 

Czech Rep. 

(cid:47)
(cid:46)
(cid:47)
(cid:47)
(cid:47)
☺
(cid:47)
(cid:47)
(cid:47)
☺
(cid:47)
☺
(cid:46)
(cid:46)
(cid:47)
(cid:47)
(cid:46)
(cid:47)
☺
(cid:47)
(cid:47)
(cid:47)
(cid:47)
(cid:47)
(cid:47)
(cid:46)
UK 
(cid:47)
Source:  Eurostat  2006:  share  of  energy  from  renewable  sources  as  a  percentage  of  final  energy  consumption 
with  normalised  hydro  generation  (including  consumption  of  the  energy  branch  for  electricity  and  heat 
generation and distribution losses). 

☺ 
☺ 
☺ 
(cid:47) 
(cid:46) 
(cid:46) 
(cid:46) 
(cid:46) 
☺ 
☺ 
☺ 
(cid:46) 
(cid:46) 
(cid:47) 
(cid:47) 
☺ 
☺ 
(cid:46) 
☺ 
(cid:46) 
☺ 
(cid:46) 
☺ 
(cid:46) 
(cid:46) 
☺ 
(cid:46) 

☺
(cid:47)
☺
(cid:47)
(cid:47)
(cid:47)
(cid:47)
(cid:47)
(cid:46)
☺
(cid:47)
(cid:47)
(cid:47)
(cid:47)
(cid:47)
☺
(cid:46)
☺
(cid:46)
(cid:47)
(cid:46)
(cid:47)
(cid:46)
(cid:47)
(cid:47)
(cid:46)
(cid:47)

(cid:46)
☺
(cid:46)
(cid:47)
(cid:46)
(cid:47)
(cid:46)
(cid:47)
(cid:46)
☺
☺
☺
☺
☺
(cid:47)
(cid:46)
(cid:46)
(cid:47)
☺
(cid:46)
☺
(cid:47)
☺
(cid:47)
(cid:46)
(cid:46)
(cid:46)

Netherlands 

Luxemburg 

Lithuania 

Romania 

Portugal 

Slovakia 

Slovenia 

Sweden 

Poland 

Latvia 

Malta 

Spain 

16.0 

31.2 

28.1 

33.6 

29.4 

60.0 

28.3 

19.1 

52.3 

22.5 

49.3 

40.4 

5.75 

5.75 

5.75 

5.75 

5.75 

5.75 

5.75 

5.75 

1.25 

5.75 

5.75 

5.75 

5.75 

2.5 

0.8 

1.1 

4.0 

3.5 

0.8 

5.0 

4.6 

0.6 

0.5 

0.1 

4.4 

1.5 

3.9 

1.1 

3.7 

5.7 

2.0 

0.0 

0.7 

7.9 

2.5 

3.1 

7.5 

0.8 

10 

31 

39 

33 

7 

5 

9 

27 

This figure is preliminary. As Bulgaria's growth rate has not been confirmed it has not been considered 
as one of the Member States with an above average growth rate for biofuels.  

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Key to "smiley" grades 
progress made towards 
target 
'04 - '06/'07 growth  

0-33% 

34-66% 

67-100%; 

≤ 0 percentage point change 

> 0 – 1 percentage point change 

> 1 percentage point change 

(cid:47) 

(cid:46) 

☺ 

Given the above challenges and the major potential contribution of renewable energy to the 
EU's climate and energy goals, the new European Directive on renewable energy which will 
enter into force in early 200928, will provide a welcome strengthening of the legal framework. 
The National Action Plans that Member States will have to prepare by 2010 will mean that all 
Member States, including those which so far have made very limited progress towards agreed 
EU objectives, will have to establish a clear plan as to how they intend to achieve their targets 
for renewable energy and for renewable energy in transport. They will have to explain how 
they intend to reform building codes and planning regimes to increase the use of renewable 
energy  and  to  improve  access  conditions  to  the  electricity  grid.  They  will  have  to  set  out 
national sectoral targets, the measures and support schemes to be used to reach the targets, the 
specific measures for the promotion of the use of energy from biomass, the intended use of 
(statistical) transfers of renewable energy from other Member States and their assessment of 
the  role  different  technologies  will  play  in  reaching  the  targets.  And  they  will  have  to 
implement and monitor biofuel sustainability criteria to ensure biofuels clearly contribute to 
our environmental objectives. 

With  all  of  these  elements,  the  Directive  will  provide  a  stable  policy  regime  for  the  rapid 
development of renewable energy in the EU for the next twelve years. Europe is now in a far 
better  and  stronger  position  to  facilitate  the  development  of  its  renewable  energy  resources, 
and in so doing to directly address the key energy concerns of the 21st century. 

28 

New  Directive 
210%29_EN.doc  

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sce/data/amend_motions_texts/doc/P6_AMA%282008%290369%28210-

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