REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Renewable Energy Progress Report
Date: 2019-04-09
Institutions: Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission
Subjects: EU energy policy, bioenergy, electrical industry, energy consumption, energy cooperation, energy industry, environmental protection, reduction of gas emissions, renewable energy, renewable resources

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 9.4.2019  COM(2019) 225 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Renewable Energy Progress Report  
 
 
1. INTRODUCTION 

With  the  entry  into  force  of  the  Directive  (EU)  2018/2001  on  the  promotion  of  the  use  of 
energy  from  renewable  sources  (RED  II)  on  24  December  2018,  a  new  future-proof 
framework  is  established  towards  meeting  the  binding  Union  target  of  at  least  32  % 
renewable energy in gross final energy consumption by 2030. This framework will build on 
the progress being achieved under the current Directive including inter alia the obligation for 
Member States to keep the 2020 targets as baseline of their respective trajectories for the next 
decade.  This  is  further  complemented  by  the  other  elements  of  the  Clean  Energy  for  All 
Europeans package1. 

Renewable energy is at the core of the Energy Union’s priorities. The Directive 2009/28/EC 
on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources2 (RED I) is a central element 
in  the  Energy  Union  policy  and  a  key  driver  for  meeting  the  renewable  energy  targets  for 
2020.   

The  political  priority  of  the  European  Union  to  become  the  global  leader  of  renewables  is 
underpinned  by  the  presence  of  renewables  in  all  five  dimensions  of  the  Energy  Union.  In 
terms  of  energy  security  renewables  reduce  the  import  dependency  of  fossil  fuels.  It  is 
estimated  that  the  increase  in  the  use  of  renewable  energy  compared  with  the  level  of 
renewable energy consumption in 2005 allowed the EU to cut its demand for fossil fuels by 
143 Mtoe in 20163 (approximately 12 % of total primary fossil fuel consumption). Similarly, 
Europe’s energy import dependence, notably as regards imports of oil and gas, will fall from 
todays 55% to 20% in 2050 thanks to a primary energy supply that would largely come from 
renewable  energy  sources4.  For  the  internal  energy  market,  renewables  play  an  increasing 
role in particular for the power market where close to one third (30.8%) of the EU 28 gross 
electricity production was generated by renewables in 20175.  

Also for renewable  gases an increasing role  is  observed. An illustrative example is  that the 
share  of  biogas  in  relation  to  the  total  consumption  of  gas  was  18.6%  in  July  2018  in 
Denmark, which is an increase of 50% compared to the year before6. On energy efficiency, a 
reduced  energy  consumption  is  tightly  linked  to  the  reaching  a  higher  share  of  renewables 
and  the  increased  integration  of  small-scale  renewables  in  buildings,  improving  the  energy 
performance in a cost effective way. Furthermore, renewable energy plays a significant role 
for  decarbonisation  and  in  2016  renewables  have  contributed  to  460  Mt  of  gross  avoided 

1 https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/energy-strategy-and-energy-union/clean-energy-all-europeans  
2 Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the 
use of energy from renewable sources, OJL 140, p. 16-62  
3 https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/renewable-energy-in-europe-2018  
4 COM(2018) 773: A Clean Planet for all. A European strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, 
competitive and climate neutral economy 
5 Eurostat 
6 News release from Energinet.dk  31st August 2018 

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CO2 emissions (more than the total GHG emissions of Italy in 2016)7 and it is estimated to 
grow  to  499  Mt8 in  2017.  Additionally,  renewables  are  a  key  contributor  to  the  innovation 
dimension. In the area of renewables, 53% of inventions from EU based companies acquire 
patent protection outside Europe9. This demonstrates high-value of the innovation, since the 
protection  is  done  with  the  view  that  it  has  scope  to  reach,  and  be  successful  in  foreign 
markets. This makes the EU a global innovation leader as it is a higher share than any of the 
other  major  economies 10 .  In  this  respect,  as  recognised  by  the  International  Renewable 
Energy Agency (IRENA), Europe has become a lighthouse in showing successful pathways 
to a renewables-based energy future, being at the forefront in energy innovation11. 

The  leadership  is  also  present  for  the  different  renewable  technologies  along  their  supply 
chains.  For some technologies, like wind turbines, EU  manufacturers  accounted for at  least 
41  %  of  the  new  global  installed  capacity  in  201612.  As  regards  EU  PV  industry,  EU  PV 
equipment manufacturers are leading with a global market share of 50%, while EU inverter 
manufacturers have a global market share of above 18%13. Further, to maintain and expand 
its  position  as  the  global  leader  in  emerging  renewable  ocean  energy  technologies,  for 
instance, the Commission engaged with Member States to join efforts to increase deployment 
and meet the cost-reduction targets set out in the SET-Plan14. The Commission has set up the 
Clean Energy Industrial Forum on Renewables to strengthen industrial basis for renewables 
in Europe. In close cooperation with the key actors of the sector, the Forum proposes actions 
to improve the competitiveness of the European supply chain for renewables.  

The benefits of renewables expand well beyond the impacts on the five political dimensions 
above.  Renewable  energies  are  a  source  of  economic  growth  and  jobs  for  Europeans,  in 
particular local jobs with more than 1.4 million people that are currently working in the sector 
and with a related turnover that is estimated to €154.7 billion15.The recent report on energy 
prices  and  costs  in  Europe 16  documents  furthermore  positive  impacts  on  industrial 
competitiveness  since  the  greater  amounts  of  renewable  energy  are  a  key  factor  behind  the 
fall  in  wholesale  energy  prices  in  recent  years.  As  highlighted  by  IRENA,  the  growing 
deployment  of  renewables  has  also  set  in  motion  a  global  energy  transformation  with 
significant implications for geopolitics and the EU is clearly in a frontrunner position17. 

7 https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/renewable-energy-in-europe-2018/  
8 EEA, estimates for 2017 
9 JRC (2017), Monitoring R&I in Low-Carbon Energy Technologies, 
http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC105642    
10 United States, Japan, South Korea, China 
11 IRENA (2019), Report on Innovation landscape for a renewable-powered future: Solutions to integrate 
variable renewables, launched in Brussels on 19 February 2019 
12 JRC (2017) Supply chain of renewable energy technologies in Europe 
13 Hoogland O., Van der Lijn, N., Rademaekers, K., Gentili, P., Colozza, P., Morichi, C., 2017, Assessment of 
Photovoltaics (PV) Task F Strategies to rebuild the European PV sector, Trinomics 
14 https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/technology-and-innovation/strategic-energy-technology-plan  
15 Eurobserv’ER (2019) 2018 barometer. https://www.eurobserv-er.org/18th-annual-overview-barometer/ 
16 https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/data-analysis/energy-prices-and-costs 
17 IRENA (2019). A New World: the geopolitics of the energy transformation 

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They also contribute to lowering air pollution and helping developing countries with access 
to  affordable  and  clean  energy.  Between  2011  and  2016,  renewable  power  generation 
capacity  grew  with  almost  10  GW  and  the  number  of  people  benefiting  from  off-grid 
renewable energy solutions  grew six-fold, reaching more than 133 million18.  It  is  estimated 
that by 2030, renewable energy sources will power over 60% of new electricity access, and 
stand-alone  and  mini-grid  systems  will  provide  the  means  for  almost  half  of  new  access19. 
Last  but  not  least,  and  most  important,  the  lower  cost  of  the  technology,  combined  with 
digitalisation is making renewables the real driving force for consumers to be empowered and 
to play a key role in the energy transition. 

This report provides the latest insights into progress made up to 2017 towards the 20% target 
for  renewable  energy  in  2020  and  addresses  other  European  Commission  reporting 
obligations  under  RED  I  and  the  Directive  on  Indirect  Land  Use  Change  (ILUC) 20.  The 
statistics on energy transmitted by Member States to Eurostat up to January 2019 are used as 
primary data source for evaluating progress towards the 2020 target. This report builds on the 
Member States 4th biannual renewable energy progress report covering the period 2015/1621, 
as well as complementary technical analysis made in the course of 2018. It also includes an 
overview  of  the  potential  in  terms  of  co-operation  mechanisms  and  assessments  of  the 
administrative frameworks and biofuels sustainability.  

2. EU-28 PROGRESS IN DEPLOYING RENEWABLE ENERGY  

In  2017,  the  EU  reached  a  share  of  17.52%  of  renewable  energy  in  gross  final  energy 
consumption, against a target of 20% for 2020, and above the indicative trajectory of 16% for 
2017/2018.  In  addition,  the  EU  as  a  whole  is  also  above  the  slightly  more  ambitious 
trajectory defined by Member States themselves in their National Renewable Energy Action 
Plans (NREAPs)22.  The EU is  on track  to  reach its 2020 target. Over the  past  years,  at  EU 
level, there has been a continuous increase in the overall share of renewable energy sources 
(RES)  and  in  the  sectoral  shares  of  renewable  energy  in  electricity  (RES-E),  heating  and 
cooling (RES-H&C), and, to a lesser extent, transport (RES-T). 

However, the pace of increase of the renewable  energy share has slowed down since 2014. 
Comparing to the share of 16.19% in 2014, the average increase over the period 2014-2017 
was  only  of  0.44  percentage  points  a  year,  lower  than  the  annual  average  increase  of  0.83 
percentage points a year that will be required to reach a 20% share in 2020. As the indicative 
trajectory from RED I is steeper in the last years, a sustained effort will be required to meet 
targets.  

With regard to individual sectors, at EU level the renewable energy share in electricity and 
heating  and  cooling  has  been  systematically  above  the  levels  defined  by  Member  States  in 

18 IRENA (2018), Off-grid Renewable Energy Solutions: Global and Regional Status and Trends. 
19 IEA (2017) WEO-2017 Special Report: Energy Access Outlook. 
20 Directive (EU) 2015/1513 
21 https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/renewable-energy/progress-reports  
22 https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/renewable-energy/national-action-plans    

3 

 
 
                                                           
their NREAPs, while for transport, the share of renewables is basically following the planned 
trajectory.  

Figure  1:  Actual  and  planned  renewable  energy  shares  for  the  EU  28  (2005-2020,  %). 
Source: Eurostat and National Renewable Energy Action plans (NREAP)  

In  terms  of  the  absolute  consumption  of  renewable  energy,  the  heating  and  cooling  sector 
provides  the  largest  contribution  with  a  total  of  102  Mtoe  in  2017,  closely  followed  by 
renewable  electricity,  with  a  consumption  of  86.7  Mtoe,  and  the  transport  sector,  with  a 
consumption of 23.65 Mtoe23.  

The  main  renewable  sources  used  in  energy  consumption  were  biomass  for  heating  and 
cooling,  hydropower  and  wind  for  electricity,  and  biofuels  for  transport.  In  the  electricity 
sector,  a  clear  paradigm  shift  is  happening  towards  renewables.  One  of  the  key  factors  has 
been  the  decline  in  the  cost  of  electricity  from  solar  PV  and  wind  power,  which  over  the 
period  from  2009  to  2018  fell  with  nearly  75%  and  about  50%  (depending  on  the  market) 
respectively,  due  to  capital  costs  reductions,  advances  in  efficiency  and  supply  chain 
improvements and competitive tendering for support schemes. In 2018, the Ourika project in 
Portugal was the first European solar project developed without any kind of public support. 
In Germany, the market premiums paid for a 1.4 MW solar PV project was below the market 
value  for  solar  power  in  summer  2018,  and  in  Denmark  new  wind  power  projects  were 
developed for a fixed feed-in tariff of 2.5 EUR/MWh. In both Germany and the Netherlands, 

23 Eurostat SHARES 2017. Using the multipliers set in RED I 

4 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
the tenders for the development of a 1610 and 700 MW offshore wind parks received zero-
subsidy bids. 

The  decline  in  costs  is  also  one  of  the  key  drivers  for  an  increase  in  corporate  sourcing  of 
renewables, especially in the case where corporate energy users sign a direct power purchase 
agreement with a renewable energy developer. Over the period from 2015 to 2018, corporate 
power purchase agreements for renewable electricity in Europe24 quadrupled from 506 MW 
to 1967 MW.  

3.  DETAILED  ASSESSMENTS  OF  MEMBER  STATES  PROGRESS  AND 
PROJECTIONS BY 2020 

1.  Progress in electricity, heating & cooling and transport 

The renewable energy shares reflect the historic diversity in Member States’ energy mix and 
their  differences  in  renewable  energy  potential,  with  shares  ranging  from  6,4%  in 
Luxembourg to 54,5% in Sweden in 2017 (see figure 2). 

Figure 2: EU and Member States renewable energy shares in gross final energy consumption 
2015-17 vs. trajectories set in RED I (source: Eurostat) 

On  the  basis  of  the  4th  renewable  energy  progress  reports  of  the  Member  States  (“progress 
reports”), that cover the  period 2015-201625, 25 Member States were above their indicative 
trajectory of RED I for the period 2015/2016. Among the 3 Member States that were below 
their RED I trajectories, the Netherlands shows the largest gap, with an actual average share 
of 5.9% for 2015/2016, versus an indicative RED trajectory of 7.6%. The gap to the planned 
NREAP share of 9.7% renewable energy in 2016 is even larger. The country continues to be 
behind the planned RES-E trajectory and also somewhat delayed regarding its planned RES-

24 Including Norway 
25 https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/renewable-energy/progress-reports  

5 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
T development. Luxembourg and France were also below their indicative RED I trajectories 
for 2015/2016, although only by a limited margin.  

The Eurostat  figures  for 2017 do not  show any  significantly different  picture. There  are 11 
Member States (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Croatia, Hungary, 
Italy, Lithuania, Romania, and Sweden) that have already achieved a share corresponding to 
their 2020 target. Out of the remaining 17 Member States, 10 Member States are already on, 
or  above,  their  interim  trajectories  set  in  RED  I  for  2017-2018.  The  remaining  7  Member 
States  (Belgium,  France,  Ireland,  Luxembourg,  the  Netherlands,  Poland,  Slovenia)  would 
need to step up efforts  to comply with the average 2017-2018 trajectory towards 2020. 

Looking  at  the  absolute  levels  of  consumption  of  renewable  energy  in  EU  28,  there  is  a 
significant  increase  from  189  Mtoe  in  2015  to  204  Mtoe  in  2017  i.e.  8%.  However,  in  the 
same  period  the  gross  final  consumption  of  energy  raised  from  1125  Mtoe  to  1159  Mtoe, 
which resulted in a decreasing impact for renewable energy share, since this is calculated as 
the final renewable energy consumption divided with the gross final consumption of energy. 
This  demand  increase  is  one  of  the  underlying  key  factors  behind  the  lowering  of  the 
renewable  energy  share  in  2017  compared  to  2016  in  9  Member  States  (Austria,  Bulgaria, 
Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Slovakia).  

Sectorial  renewable energy shares  grew  for a large majority  of the Member States between 
2015-2017. However, for some Member States, the sectorial shares change by only less than 
0.3  percentage  points.  This  is  the  case  for  9  Member  States  in  RES-E  (Bulgaria,  Czech 
Republic,  Spain,  Hungary,  Poland,  Romania,  Slovenia,  Slovakia,  Sweden),  7  in  RES-H&C 
(Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia), and 10 for RES-T 
(Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Cyprus, Latvia, Luxembourg, Austria, Poland, 
Finland).   

For the transport sector, where all Member States should reach the same target of 10%, this 
slowdown could be challenging in the 8 Member States (Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Cyprus, 
Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia) that have less than 5% renewable energy consumption in 
the transport sector and  that would therefore need a steep increase to  reach the 10% target. 
The recourse to statistical transfers for the transport sector, enabled by the ILUC Directive is 
also a possible avenue to explore.  

2.  Co-operation mechanisms 

Co-operation  mechanisms  are  based  on  Articles  6  to  11  of  RED  I.  They  include  several 
mechanisms  through  which  Member  States  can  cooperate  on  renewable  energy  such  as 
statistical  transfers,  joint  projects  and  joint  support  schemes.  Statistical  transfers  are 
particularly  relevant  to  facilitate  target  achievement  since  they  enable  Member  States  that 
have  reached  a  higher  renewable  energy  share  than  their  national  target  to  transfer  their 
surplus to another Member States. There are currently two agreements to make use of these 
statistical  transfers  between  Luxembourg  and  Lithuania  and  between  Luxembourg  and 
Estonia. In both cases, they stipulate that Luxembourg will receive statistical transfers for the 
period 2018 – 2020.  

6 

 
 
According to the estimates that Member States have included in their progress reports, there 
would  be  an  overall  12564  ktoe  excess  production  of  renewable  energy,  compared  to  the 
indicative trajectory, available for potential statistical transfers in 2020. This corresponds to 
around  half  of  France  gross  final  consumption  of  energy  from  renewable  sources.  For  a 
Member  State  that  may  not  meet  the  2020  target  using  their  own  renewable  sources,  this 
could be a viable option to meet their target cost-effectively (see table 1).  

2009 

2010 

2011 

2012 

2013 

2014 

2015 

2016 

2017 

2018 

2019  2020 

Belgium 

Bulgaria 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

372 

357 

528 

641 

601 

610 

691 

Czech Republic 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1145 

1039 

947 

0 

420 

863 

0 

471 

892 

619 

0 

0 

411 

341 

678 

643 

63 

3065 

Denmark 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Latvia 

Luxembourg 

Hungary 

Malta 

Netherlands 

Austria 

Poland 

Portugal 

Romania 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

Sweden 

694 

834 

1123 

1106 

1223 

1452 

552 

6895 

8436 

6546 

9390 

7272 

7911 

4130 

5976 

101 

117 

135 

122 

93 

75 

-14 

137 

201 

320 

242 

94 

111 

195 

154 

163 

186 

235 

279 

296 

79 

26 

-142 

-12 

-239 

-366 

137 

-162 

737 

743 

683 

529 

2290 

3083 

2720 

3357 

1990 

2963 

2049 

2793 

839 

-641 

-2708 

-1877 

-1565 

-3721 

-4048 

-4075 

0 

0 

0 

0 

8324 

8613 

7405 

10011  10937  9343 

9468 

7789 

7259 

5828 

4462  3397 

-11 

28 

44 

45 

43 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

29 

-69 

0 

29 

57 

34 

21 

0 

-127 

0 

0 

-50 

-120 

968 

1150 

1213 

1295 

883 

970 

803 

0 

929 

82 

942 

0 

0 

530 

84 

645 

0 

0 

93 

144 

692 

0 

4 

0 

0 

174 

128 

1089 

10 

0 

0 

-260 

154 

886 

0 

0 

302 

254 

142 

222 

305 

364 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

543 

0 

729 

83 

1153 

1306 

794 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

968 

81 

258 

0 

90 

0 

0 

0 

968 

131 

405 

0 

110 

0 

0 

0 

0 

587 

50 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

-4 

263 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2407 

2141 

2482 

3318 

3214 

3335 

3347 

3475 

3215 

3610 

3428  3241 

Total  
11985  13544  20838  28332  26660  27033  23901  23038  20722  22752  9982  12564 
Table  1:  Actual  and  estimated  excess  and/or  deficit  production  of  renewable  energy  in 
Member States compared to the indicative RED trajectory (ktoe). Source: Navigant 201926, 
Member States reports27. 

3.  Projections  

In order to assess the feasibility of 2020 target achievement, a modelling exercise28 has been 
carried  out  for  the  Commission.  The  analysis  explores  to  what  extent  Current  Policy 

26 Navigant 2019: Technical assistance in realisation of the 4th report on progress of renewable energy in the 
EU, final report  
27 The table only includes Member States that provided this specific information in their progress report 

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
Initiatives  (CPI)  on  renewable  energy  (as  reported  by  the  Member  States  in  their  progress 
reports), complemented by Planned Policy Initiatives (PPI), would be sufficient to trigger the 
targeted  renewable  energy  deployment  in  the  running  up  to  2020,  for  each  Member  State. 
This modelling finds that a renewable energy share of 18.1% to 20.7% can be expected for 
2020  at  EU  level  with  currently  implemented  and  planned  renewable  energy  policy 
initiatives29. A number of Member States is expected to perform well in the remaining years, 
reaching deployment levels beyond their target levels.  

However,  for  11  Member  States  (Belgium,  Cyprus  France,  Greece,  Ireland,  Luxembourg, 
Malta,  the  Netherlands,  Poland,  Portugal  and  the  United  Kingdom),  currently  implemented 
renewable  energy  policies  and  already  planned  renewable  energy  policy  initiatives  appear 
today  to  be  insufficient  to  trigger  the  required  renewable  energy  volumes  purely 
domestically.  

In  addition,  for  7  Member  States  (Austria,  Germany,  Latvia,  Romania,  Slovenia,  Slovakia 
and  Spain)  there  is  some  uncertainty  related  to  2020  renewable  energy  target  achievement. 
Their capability of meeting their 2020 national binding targets will to a great extend depend 
on the levels of energy demand in case there would be a large increase in energy demand that 
brings  their  energy  consumption  back  in  line  with  the  original  trend  indicated  by  the  latest 
EU  reference  scenario.  Taking  into  account  the  agreed  co-operation  mechanisms  for 
Luxembourg, Estonia and Lithuania, the results are shown in figure 4.  

28 The scenario calculation was done by application of the Green-X model , which is a simulation tool for 
renewable energy policy instruments in Europe https://green-x.at/. 
29 The range indicates the uncertainty related to key input parameter for the model-based assessment of future 
renewable energy progress. Future energy demand (growth) and the policy implementation play a decisive role 
in this respect 

8 

 
 
 
                                                                                                                                                                                     
Figure 3. Expected renewable energy share in 2020 vs. 2020 RED targets and 2020 planned 
(NREAP) targets (%) excluding cooperation. (Navigant 201930) 

Figure 4. Expected renewable energy shares in 2020 vs. 2020 RED targets and 2020 planned 
(NREAP) targets, including cooperation mechanisms (MS, %). Source: Navigant 2019. 

Due  to  the  relatively  low  total  energy  consumption  of  Luxembourg,  the  transfers  from 
Estonia  and  Lithuania  have  a  significant  impact  on  Luxembourg’s  capability  to  achieve  its 
target: Luxembourg is expected to meet its 11% 2020 target in the most optimistic scenarios. 
These  same  transfers  have  a  limited  impact  for  both  Estonia’s  and  Lithuania’s  renewable 
energy share, which only decrease by 0.7% for Estonia and 0.9% for Lithuania in the worst 
case scenario. 

Going  forward,  according  to  their  draft  2030  National  Energy  and  Climate  Plans 31 ,  all 
Member States have already tabled their national contributions to the EU level binding target 
of at least 32 % which would make renewables the backbone of the Union energy system. By 
June  2019,  the  Commission  will  assess  whether  these  national  contributions,  and  the 
associated policies and measures, are in line with the EU ambition, and, if appropriate, issue 
recommendations to Member States. 

4.  Administrative barriers 

In their 4th national renewable energy progress reports, Member States report on measures to 
streamline  administrative  procedures  for  renewable  energy  projects  (pursuant  article  13  of 
RED  I).  According  to  external  analysis 32,  in  global  terms,  a  large  share  of  the  relevant 
measures in the REDI have been successfully implemented across the Member States. These 

30 Navigant 2019: Technical assistance in realisation of the 4th report on progress of renewable energy in the 
EU, final report 
31 https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/energy-strategy-and-energy-union/governance-energy-union/national-
energy-climate-plans 
32 Navigant 2019 

9 

 
 
 
                                                           
include,  amongst  others:  facilitated  procedures  for  small-scale  projects, 
measures 
requirements on system operators to provide cost estimates and other necessary information, 
requirements  on  the  distribution  of  costs  of  grid  development  and  grid  connection  of 
renewable energy, consideration of RES-E in the national network development plan, and the 
existence of support schemes promoting the use of renewable energy. 

However, barriers related to building and planning procedures have increased in recent years. 
For the electricity sector, the development towards larger projects has imposed some barriers, 
since  such  projects  have  additional  requirements  in  terms  of  spatial  and  environmental 
planning.  For  the  heating  and  cooling  sector,  the  barriers  are  mainly  due  to  shortcomings 
related  to  the  capacities  of  the  district  heating  networks,  while  the  transport  sector  mainly 
sees  barriers  arising  from  the  lack  of  adequate  infrastructure  both  for  biofuels  and  electric 
vehicles.  The  integration  of  the  increasing  RES  capacities  in  the  grid  is  also  a  persisting 
challenge for the majority of the Member States. The barriers mainly arise from high cost of 
grid  connection  as  well  as  from  the  lack  of  predictability  and  transparency  of  the  grid 
connection procedures.  

4. ASSESSMENT OF SUSTAINABILITY OF BIOFUELS33  

1.  Overview of biofuel consumption in the EU 

In  2016,  the  EU  consumption  of  sustainable  biofuels  amounted  to  13,840  ktoe.  Of  this, 
11,083 ktoe (80%) was  biodiesel  and 2,620 ktoe (19%) was bioethanol.  Most (64%) of the 
biodiesel  consumed in  the EU in  2016 was produced from  feedstocks from  the EU, mainly 
from  rapeseed (~38%),  used cooking oil (13%), animal  fat  (8%) and tall  oil (2.5%). Of the 
remaining  36%  of  biodiesel  consumed  in  the  EU,  19.6%  was  palm  oil  from  Indonesia 
(13.3%)  and  Malaysia  (6.3%),    6.1%  was  rapeseed  from  mainly  Australia  (2.6%),  Ukraine 
(1.8%) and Canada (1.2%), 4.8% was used cooking oil from various countries outside the EU 
and 4.3% was soybean from mainly the United States (1.5%) and Brazil (1.5%). 

Ethanol consumed in the EU is produced also mainly from EU feedstocks (65%), including 
from wheat (~25%), corn (~22%) and sugar beet (17%) and only a small amount (~1%) from 
cellulosic  ethanol.  Ethanol-based  feedstock  from  outside  the  EU  includes  corn  (16.4%), 
wheat (2.9%) and sugar cane (2.9%) from various parts. The main third countries producing 
feedstock for bioethanol consumed in the EU include Ukraine (9.8%), Russia (2.1%), Brazil 
(1.8%), the US (1.7%) and Canada (1.6%).  

It is estimated that almost all biogas consumed in the EU in 2016 was sourced from domestic 
feedstock,  chiefly  from  crops  and  agro/food  waste  (including  manure)  (75%),  followed  by 
landfill  gas  (16%)  and  sewage  sludge  gas  (9%).  The  origin  of  bioliquids,  which  in  2016 
accounted for less than 1% of all bioenergy consumed in the EU, is difficult to ascertain as 
Member States do not split between feedstocks used for biofuels and bioliquids.  

33 Main source for the data and assessement contained in this section: Navigant, 2019: Technical assistance in 
realisation of the 2018 report on biofuels sustainability. 

10 

 
 
                                                           
e
n
i
l
o
s
a
g
o
i
B
2,619 

l
e
s
e
i
d
o
i
B
11,041 
32.9 
0.0 

s
a
g
o
i
B
131 
0.0 
- 

d
i
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q
i
l

r
e
h
t
O

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l
e
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o
i
b

t
e
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o
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B

d
i
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e
n
e
s
o
r
e
k

s
l
e
u
f
o
i
b

l
a
t
o
T
-  13,664 
32.9 
- 
0.0 
0.0 

0.0 

4.5 
0.0 
0.0 

Road 
Rail 
International 
aviation 
Domestic aviation 
Domestic 
Navigation 
Non-specified 
transport 
Total 
Table 2: Final bioenergy consumption in EU transport (2016, ktoe). Source: Eurostat 

0.0  13,708 

0.0 
1.4 

0.0 
0.0 

0.0 
- 

0.0 
5.0 

0 
5.0 

- 
0.0 

0.0 
3.5 

13,840 

11,083 

2,620 

132 

0.0 

0.0 

0.0 

6.2 

6.7 

4.5 

0.5 

6.2 

l
a
t
o
T
13,796 
33.1 
0 

2.  Impacts of biofuels consumed in the EU  

It is estimated that 4.9 Mha of land was required for the production of crops for EU biofuel 
consumption  in  2016,  based  on  an  analysis  of  the  origin  of  biofuels  feedstock.34 Of  that 
amount, 3.6 Mha (73%) is located within the EU and the remaining 1.3 Mha (26%) is located 
in third countries. In terms of the total amount of cropland dedicated to biofuel production, in 
the  EU  it  was  3.1%  (on  the  basis  of  an  estimate  of  total  EU  cropland  of  115  Mha),  with 
rapeseed representing 56% of the share of the total land used for biofuels production. From 
the four main countries outside the EU supplying crops for the production of biofuels which 
are  consumed in the  EU (Ukraine,  Brazil,  Indonesia and Malaysia), less  than 0.5% of their 
total cropland was attributed to this use.  

According to information reported by Member States, total emission savings from the use of 
biofuels in transport in the EU amounted to  33.2 Mtonne CO2eq in 2016. Taking into account 
ILUC  emissions  estimated  using  2016  crop  feedstock  volumes  multiplied  by  the 
corresponding mean ILUC values from the ILUC Directive, total emission savings from the 
use of biofuels in transport in the EU are reduced to 11.8 Mtonne of CO2eq (with a range from 
7.4 to 20.4 Mtonnes of CO2eq savings)35.  

A recent comprehensive review36 of the latest available scientific literature conducted for the 
Commission  indicates  that  biodiesel  is  associated  with  the  most  significant  ILUC  impacts 
(with a median ILUC emission level of 52 gCO2-eq/MJ), with the highest estimates within 

34 The analysis of biofuels feedstock takes into account international trade in biofuels and their feedstocks, and 
conversion efficiencies. 
35  Calculated  on  the  basis  of  the  provisional  estimated  indirect  land-use  change  emissions  from  biofuel, 
bioliquid  and  biomass  fuel  feedstock  (g  CO2eq/MJ)  in  Annex  VIII  of  Directive  (EU)  2018/2001.  For  further 
details, See Navigant 2019. 
36  Wageningen  Research,  Netherlands  Environmental  Assessment  Agency  and  CENER,  2017,  Study  on 
reporting requirements on biofuels and bioliquids stemming from the Directive (EU) 2015/1513. 

11 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
that  category  being  for  palm  oil  biodiesel,  which  also  has  the  highest  variation  in  results. 
Food and feed-crop based ethanol has a median ILUC emission level of 21 gCO2-eq/MJ.  In 
comparison,  the  provisional  estimated  ILUC  emissions  listed  in  Annex  VIII  of  the  recast 
Renewable Energy Directive are 55 gCO2eq/MJ for oil crops, 12 gCO2eq/MJ for cereals and 
other  starch-rich  crops,  and  13  gCO2eq/MJ  for  sugars.  The  review  contains  further 
information on the indirect impacts of biofuels.  

The  cultivation  of  feedstocks  used  for  the  production  of  biofuels  consumed  in  the  EU  can 
potentially  result  in  negative  environmental  impacts,  which  are  site-specific  and  depend  on 
the  agricultural  practices  applied37.  In  their  Progress  Reports,  most  Member  States  point  to 
limited  cultivation  of  feedstock  used  in  biofuel  production  compared  to  total  agricultural 
activities,  and  consider  therefore  that  associated  environmental  impacts  are  insignificant. 
Several Member States point out that all agricultural production is regulated with respect to 
environmental impacts and therefore consider that no more impacts should be expected from 
biofuel  crop  production  than  other  crop  production 38 .  A  detailed  assessment  of  the 
environmental impacts of the production of biofuels consumed in the EU is contained in an 
external study39 . A comprehensive report providing the latest available data and assessment 
on  the  status  of  production  expansion  of  food  and  feed  crops  worldwide  has  also  been 
published recently by the Commission40. 

The EU bioenergy sustainability framework has been reinforced under the recast Renewable 
Energy  Directive.  In  particular,  the  Directive  sets  national  limits,  which  will  gradually 
decrease  to  zero  by  2030,  for  high-ILUC  biofuels,  bioliquids  and  biomass  fuels  produced 
from  food  or  feed  crops  for  which  a  significant  expansion  of  the  production  area  into  land 
with high carbon stock is observed. These limits will affect the amount of these fuels that can 
be counted when calculating the overall share of renewables and the share of renewables in 
transport.  The  Directive  however  makes  it  possible  to  exempt  from  the  national  caps  those 
biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels that are certified as low ILUC-risk.  

To implement this approach, on 13 March 2019 the Commission adopted a Delegated Act on 
high and low-ILUC risk biofuels41, which is now with the Council and European Parliament 
for scrutiny. Generally, the EU decided to focus in the future on the promotion of advanced 
biofuels and other low carbon fuels, such as renewable electricity and renewable liquid and 
gaseous  transport  fuels  of  non-biological  origin.  Advanced  biofuels  have  only  a  very  small 
market  share  today  but  there  is  a  significant  potential  to  scale-up  production.  The 
Commission  will  continue  to  promote  the  development  of  advanced  biofuels  including  by 

37 It  should  however  be  noted  that  neither  site-specific  data  nor  data  related  specifically  to  the  local 
environmental impacts of cultivation of feedstocks for biofuel production are available. 
38 Note that the current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) contributes substantially to support biodiversity and 
promote sustainable farming systems through the complementary actions of a range of various instruments. As 
regards the future CAP post 2020 one of the nine specific CAP objectives is to contribute to the protection of 
biodiversity, enhance ecosystem services and preserve habitats and landscape. The policy aims to increase the 
level of environmental and climate ambition. 
39 Navigant 2019. 
40 EC, 2019, Report on the status of production expansion of relevant food and feed crops worldwide. 
41 C(2019) 2055 final. 

12 

 
 
                                                           
exploring  sources  for  potential  new  feedstocks.  While  at  this  stage  there  is  no  sufficient 
scientific  evidence  available  to  justify  an  enlargement  of  the  feedstock  base  for  advanced 
biofuels laid down in Annex IX of REDII, the Commission will continue to assess whether 
additional feedstocks could be used for the production of advanced biofuels in the future42. 

3.  Operation of the voluntary schemes recognised by the Commission  

RED  I  empowers  the  Commission  to  recognise  international  or  national  certification 
schemes,  referred  to  as  voluntary  schemes,  which  operators  can  use  to  demonstrate 
compliance  with  the  sustainability  and  greenhouse  gas  saving  criteria  of  the  Directive  for 
biofuels  and  bioliquids.  Currently,  14  voluntary  schemes  have  been  recognised  for  this 
purpose43.  Member  States  are  required  to  accept  the  evidence  regarding  the  sustainability 
criteria obtained by operators participating in these schemes. This provision greatly facilitates 
the implementation of the sustainability criteria as it allows operators to provide the required 
evidence  following  a  single  administrative  procedure  in  all  EU  Member  States 44 .  Each 
voluntary scheme on which a decision has been adopted and which has been in operation for 
the last twelve months is required to deliver annually a report to the Commission45.  

Over  the  last  few  years,  voluntary  schemes  have  become  the  main  tool  to  demonstrate 
compliance with the EU biofuel sustainability criteria. During the calendar year 2017, 21,429 
kilotons  (kt)  of  liquid  biofuels  (including  pure  vegetable  oil),  140,045  thousand  m3  of 
biomethane (equivalent to around 100.8 kt), and 119,119 kt of feedstock have been certified 
to comply with the EU sustainability criteria as set out in Articles 17(2)-(5) of the Renewable 
Energy Directive. Looking in more detail at the certified liquid biofuels, 12,198 kt (57% of 
the total amount) was biodiesel and 6,224 kt (29%) was bioethanol. The rest was made up of 
Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) biofuels (1,784 kt, 8%), pure vegetable oil (1,053 kt, 5%) 
and  other  fuels.  The  largest  volumes  of  certified  feedstock  used  for  biofuels  were  rapeseed 
(27%), palm oil (16%), used cooking oil (13%) and corn (12%).  

The  Commission  only  recognises  schemes  that  fulfil  adequate  standards  of  reliability, 
transparency  and  independent  auditing.  For  this  purpose,  the  Commission  conducts  a 
thorough  assessment  of  the  voluntary  schemes  requesting  recognition46.  This  ensures  that, 
among  other  things:  feedstock  producers  comply  with  the  sustainability  criteria  of  RED  I, 
information  on  sustainability  characteristics  is  traceable  to  the  origin  of  the  feedstock, 
companies are  audited before they start to  participate in  the scheme, retroactive audits take 
place regularly and auditors are external and independent. 

42 The review of the list of feedstock set out in Parts A and B of Annex IX of the Directive with a view to adding 
feedstock that meet a set of strict criteria will take place by June 2021. 
43 https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/files/documents/voluntary_schemes_overview_february_2019.pdf 
44 The Communication from the Commission on voluntary schemes and default values (2010/C 160/01) has set 
out the principles how the Commission carries out its responsibilities leading to such decisions. This document 
was  complemented  by  a  communication  on  the  practical  implementation  of  the  EU  biofuels  and  bioliquids 
sustainability scheme ((2010/C 160/02)). 
45 Navigant, 2019. Review of voluntary scheme annual reports. 
46 Details the recognition process of voluntary schemes can be found on the following Commission website: 
https://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/renewable-energy/biofuels/voluntary-schemes. 

13 

 
 
                                                           
In  recent  years,  the  governance  of  the  voluntary  schemes  has  received  increasing  public 
scrutiny47. In order to address these concerns and guarantee robust implementation, Article 30 
of  REDII  includes  strengthened  rules  for  the  verification  of  the  bioenergy  sustainability 
criteria,  including  stronger  national  and  EU  oversight  of  voluntary  schemes  and  third  party 
auditing.  In  addition,  the  Commission  is  required  to  adopt  detailed  implementing  rules  on 
adequate  standards  of  reliability,  transparency  and  independent  auditing  and  require  all 
recognized  voluntary  schemes  to  apply  them.  Finally,  the  Commission  will  establish  a 
European database in order to improve the tracing of sustainable biofuels.  

Voluntary scheme 

Scope 

Name 

Feedstock type 

Feedstock origin 

Supply chain covered 

International Sustainability 
and Carbon Certification 
(ISCC) 
Bonsucro EU 

Roundtable on Sustainable 
Biomaterial EU RED  (RSB 
EU RED) 
RTRS EU RED 

U.S. Soybean Sustainability 
Assurance Protocol (SSAP) 

Biomass Biofuels voluntary 
scheme (2BSvs) 
Scottish Quality Farm 
Assured Combinable Crops 
Limited (SQC) 
Red Tractor Farm Assurance 
Combinable Crops & Sugar 
Beet (Red Tractor) 
REDcert 

Wide range of feedstocks  Global 

Full supply chain 

Sugar cane 

Global 

Wide range of feedstocks  Global 

Full supply chain 

Full supply chain 

Soy 

Soy  

Global 

US 

Full supply chain 

From cultivation to place of 
export 

Wide range of feedstocks  Global 

Full supply chain 

All cereals and oilseeds 

North Great Britain  Until the first feedstock 

Cereals, oilseeds, sugar 
beet 

UK 

Wide range of feedstocks 

Europe 

delivery point 

Until the first feedstock 
delivery point 

Full supply chain 

Full supply chain 

Better Biomass 

Wide range of feedstocks  Global 

Gafta Trade Assurance 
Scheme 

Wide range of feedstocks   Global 

Chain of custody from farm 
gate to first processor 

KZR INiG System 

Wide range of feedstocks 

Europe 

Full supply chain 

Trade Assurance Scheme for 
Combinable Crops (TASC) 

Universal Feed Assurance 
Scheme(UFAS) 

Combinable crops, such 
as cereals, oilseeds and 
sugar beet 

Feed ingredients and 
compound feeds as well 
as combinable crops 

United Kingdom 

Chain of custody from farm 
gate to first processor 

United Kingdom 

Chain of custody from farm 
gate to first processor 

 Table 3: Voluntary schemes currently recognised by the Commission 

47 European Court of Auditors (ECA), 2016, Special report No 18/2016: The EU system for the certification of 
sustainable biofuels. 

14 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
5. CONCLUSIONS 

The EU is on track for reaching its renewable energy target for 2020. In 2017, the share of 
renewable  energy  in  the  EU  energy  mix  has  reached  17.52%.  Investments  in  renewable 
energy are increasingly driven by the market and the share of public subsidies is falling. This 
has  been  triggered  by  the  significant  cost  reductions  in  renewable  energy  technologies,  the 
decrease  of  subsidies  through  more  competitive  support  schemes  and  exemplified  by  the 
numerous zero or low cost auction results in several European countries. 

However, the pace of increase of the renewable  energy share has slowed down since 2014. 
While  the  EU  is  still  on  track  to  meet  its  renewable  energy  2020  targets,  efforts  should  be 
stepped up in  the remaining period until 2020 to ensure this is  the case, also  in  connection 
with expected higher energy consumption in the future. In 2017, 11 Member States already 
have a renewable energy share above their respective 2020 targets. 10 other Member States 
met or exceeded their average indicative trajectory from the Renewable Energy Directive for 
the  two-year  period  2017-2018.  There  are,  however,  7  Member  States  (Belgium,  France, 
Ireland,  Luxembourg,  The  Netherlands,  Poland  and  Slovenia)  that  would  need  additional 
efforts in order to comply with the average 2017-2018 indicative trajectory towards 2020.  

In order to meet 2020 renewable energy targets,  and sustain these levels  as a baseline from 
2021  onwards,  most  Member  States  are  encouraged  to  continue  stepping  up  efforts  to  both 
deploy  renewables  across  the  three  sectors,  while  at  the  same  time  reducing  energy 
consumption. Recent modelling has shown that the currently implemented renewable energy 
policies  and  already  planned  renewable  energy  policy  initiatives  might  be  insufficient  in  a 
number  of  Member  States  to  reach  their  national  binding  targets  in  time,  if  only  domestic 
supply,  without  cooperation  mechanisms,  is  considered.  Finally,  Member  States  should 
consider the possibility of using statistical transfers, as foreseen in the Renewables Directive, 
either as a way to ensure target achievement when there is a deficit, or to sell their potential 
surpluses to other Member States. The Commission stands ready to actively support Member 
States in this regard and facilitate the necessary cooperation.  

In this context, the new mobilisation of efforts at all levels and across the European Union is 
on-going.  This  is  taking  place  inter  alia  through  the  dedicated  Task  Force  on  energy 
efficiency  launched  by  the  Commission,  alongside  the  new  renewable  energy  auctions 
already  announced  in  several  Member  States  for  instance  in  France,  the  Netherlands,  and 
Portugal, or the wider use of corporate power purchase agreements through which European 
companies  bought  a  record  amount  of  wind  power  capacity  in  2018.  These  measures  are 
expected to bring results in the years to come. 

Biofuels consumed in the EU continue to be largely produced from domestic feedstock. The 
EU  sustainability  criteria  have  been  successful  in  minimizing  the  risk  of  major  direct 
environmental  impacts  associated  to  biofuels,  irrespective  of  whether  they  are  produced 
domestically,  or  imported  from  third  countries.  Over  the  last  few  years,  voluntary  schemes 
recognized  by  the  European  Commission  have  become  the  main  tool  to  demonstrate 
compliance with the EU biofuel sustainability criteria, and therefore they have been subject to 
increased  public  scrutiny.  Furthermore,  RED  II  includes  a  reinforced  sustainability 

15 

 
 
framework  for  all  bioenergy  uses  (not  limited  to  biofuels,  but  covering  also  biomass  and 
biogas use in heat and power), including a new approach limiting the role of high ILUC-risk 
biofuels.  The  governance  of  the  voluntary  schemes  has  been  strengthened,  including  the 
robustness of third party auditing. 

16