C 125/402
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
5.4.2023
Wednesday 14 September 2022 (3h)
Points out that owing to their small size and isolated energy systems, the most remote island regions, just like the outermost regions, face a major challenge when it comes to energy supply as they generally rely on fossil fuel imports for electricity generation, transport and heating.
(3i)
Considers that use of renewable energy, including tidal power, should be a priority and believes it could benefit islands substantially, bearing in mind the local communities' requirements, including preservation of the islands' traditional architecture and local habitat; calls, therefore, for support for the development of a wide range of renewable energy sources based on their geographical features; welcomes the green hydrogen programmes which islands have launched.
(4)
There is a growing recognition of the need for alignment of bioenergy policies with the cascading principle of biomass use (8), with a view to ensuring fair access to the biomass raw material market for the development of innovative, high value-added bio-based solutions and a sustainable circular bioeconomy.
When developing support schemes for bioenergy, Member States should therefore take into consideration the available sustainable supply of biomass for energy and non-energy uses and the maintenance of the national forest carbon sinks and ecosystems, the protection of biodiversity as well as the principles of the circular economy and the biomass cascading use, and the waste hierarchy established in Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (9).
However, they should be able to grant support for the production of energy from stumps or roots in the case of waste or residues derived from the implementation of works carried out with the primary objective of nature conservation and landscape management, such as from roadsides.
In any event, Member States should avoid promoting the use of quality roundwood for energy except in well-defined circumstances, for example wildfire prevention and salvage logging.
In line with the cascading principle, woody biomass should be used according to its highest economic and environmental added value in the following order of priorities: 1) wood-based products, 2) extending their service life, 3) re-use, 4) recycling, 5) bio-energy and 6) disposal.
Where no other use for woody biomass is economically viable or environmentally appropriate, energy recovery helps to reduce energy generation from non-renewable sources.
Member States’ support schemes for bioenergy should therefore be directed to such feedstocks for which little market competition exists with the material sectors, and whose sourcing is considered positive for both climate and biodiversity, in order to avoid negative incentives for unsustainable bioenergy pathways, as identified in the JRC report ‘The use of woody biomass for energy production in the EU’ (10) .
On the other hand, in defining the further implications of the cascading principle, it is necessary to recognise the national specificities, which guide Member States in the design of their support schemes.
Waste prevention, reuse and recycling of waste should be the priority option.
Member States should avoid creating support schemes which would be counter to targets on treatment of waste and which would lead to the inefficient use of recyclable waste.
Moreover, in order to ensure a more efficient use of bioenergy, from 2026 on Member States should not give support anymore to electricity-only plants, unless the installations are in regions with a specific use status as regards their transition away from fossil fuels, if they use carbon capture and storage or if the installations cannot be modified in a direction to cogeneration in exceptional justified cases upon approval by the Commission.
(5)
The rapid growth and increasing cost-competitiveness of renewable electricity production can be used to satisfy a growing share of energy demand, for instance using heat pumps for space heating or low-temperature industrial processes, electric vehicles for transport, or electric furnaces in certain industries.
Renewable electricity can also be used to produce synthetic fuels for consumption in hard-to-decarbonise transport sectors such as aviation and
(8)
The cascading principle aims to achieve resource efficiency of biomass use through prioritising biomass material use to energy use wherever possible, increasing thus the amount of biomass available within the system.
In line with the cascading principle, woody biomass should be used according to its highest economic and environmental added value in the following order of priorities: 1) wood-based products, 2) extending their service life, 3) re-use, 4) recycling, 5) bio-energy and 6) disposal.
Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives (OJ L 312, 22.11.2008, p. 3).
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC122719
(9) (10)