Bioenergy Europe welcomes the European Commission's long-awaited REPowerEU plan to gradually reduce dependence on fossil fuels from Russia. However, they regret that the plan still lacks the necessary vision to recognize sustainable bioenergy as one of the key solutions to enhance the EU's energy security.
The plan refers to bioenergy in only one paragraph, recognizing its contribution to the renewable energy mix (which accounts for almost 60% of the total) and foresees moderate but steady growth of the sector until 2030. The plan lacks a proposal for concrete measures or objectives in the statement, which shows that the European Commission has a lack of vision to pave the way for concrete and immediately available solutions such as solid biomass. Given the current geopolitical context, this is simply unacceptable.
“As the Commission fails to properly consider bioenergy, we are missing a huge opportunity to ensure energy security and provide European citizens with renewable heat at an affordable price in the next season,” says Jean-Marc Jossart, Secretary General of Bioenergy Europe. “Russia's fossil fuel imports are being replaced by other fossil fuel imports and are only creating new dependencies that only shift the problem rather than solving it.”
It is indeed essential to provide modern and renewable heating solutions for households. European citizens need alternatives for independent and affordable energy supply options. An ambitious plan is needed to replace old and inefficient heating systems with modern systems that efficiently deliver sustainable bio-heat to homes while simultaneously improving air quality.
Diversification of the EU's energy supply will be of crucial importance to guarantee genuine independence from Russian imports of fossil fuels. With the plan aimed at the rapid deployment of renewable energy sources, all types of bioenergy solutions play and will continue to play an important role in securing the supply of clean energy through space heating in buildings, grid stabilization, scaling up renewable energy production , decarbonization of hard-to-reduce industries, and the deployment of necessary new technologies such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).
The bioenergy industry is highly diversified, and therefore a more holistic approach to the sector is needed . Consequently, considering only biomethane in the plan represents only a fraction of the enormous supply and potential of this sector, which is provided by raw materials from forests, agriculture, and the management of residues and waste from various industries. The affordability of bioenergy as a solution relative to other proposed solutions is insufficiently elaborated in the presented plan. Transparency regarding the actual costs and CO₂ savings of each option is required to assess the short- and long-term effects.
Bioenergy has only become more competitive in recent months and will continue to grow in Europe across all sectors of society: electricity production, industry, transport, agriculture, and heating. Moreover, there is untapped potential in underutilized biomass. Residues (e.g. from road maintenance, parks, forest management, etc.) must be used in a cost-effective manner to produce renewable energy, rather than being left to rot on the ground or burned in uncontrolled open field fires.
“If Europe is serious about meeting higher renewable energy targets, it must set out a clear strategy with ambitious but achievable targets for each sector,” said Irene di Padua, the association's policy director. “In this context, the idea of limiting the support or even the use of primary woody biomass will only hinder our local renewable industry without ensuring further sustainability and biodiversity protection.”
Source: Bioenergy Europe
