At the beginning of next year, the legal changes to power generation from biomass will take effect, affecting the entire fuel supply chain and thus us as well as our suppliers and customers.
Three years ago, in December 2018, the EU member states agreed on a new version of the Renewable Energy Directive (2018/2001/EC – RED II for short). This includes a large number of criteria to ensure that the biomass used in power and heat generation has been produced sustainably. This results in new requirements for the promotion of power generation from biomass.
The European countries were required to implement these new requirements into national law by 1 July 2021. In Germany, this was done with a significant delay by adapting the Biomass Energy Sustainability Ordinance and the Biofuels Sustainability Ordinance. These were adopted on 24.11.2021, entered into force on 08.12.2021 and are to be implemented in practice from 01.01.2022.
Biomass CHP plants that use solid biomass in plants with a total thermal firing capacity of 20 MW or more must therefore prove conformity with the Biomass Energy Sustainability Ordinance from 1 January 2022 at the latest. Only with this proof of sustainability will the requirements for EEG remuneration remain in place. Voluntary certification systems can have themselves recognised by the EU Commission to show their conformity with RED II. The Brüning Group is already a participant in the Sustainable Biomass Programme scheme as well as Better Biomass – NTA8080, which have joined the (pre-)recognition list. In addition, new systems have been established. For example, the certification scheme SURE (Sustainable Resources Verification Scheme) was developed by the industry associations concerned in cooperation with the biofuel certification scheme REDcert and the European biomass association Bioenergy Europe, which was approved by the EU and enables certifications according to RED II guidelines.
As supplier of solid biomass as fuel for many biomass CHP plants and as a reliable purchaser of solid biomass, we have already gone through the final certification process of the SURE scheme and are very proud to hold the certificate as one of the first biomass traders in Germany. This means that we can supply our customers with the corresponding fuels in the long term and in compliance with the law.
For many suppliers of the Brüning Group, this means that they do not necessarily have to get certified themselves, but that their fuel can be partially included in our supply chain certification. However, the fuel produced or created must demonstrably fulfil the sustainability criteria. This requirement is directed at forestry production companies in the production of forest residues or at waste and residue production companies, e.g. in the production of landscape maintenance material.
With the certification obtained within the framework of the SURE scheme, we offer our customers and suppliers a further plus in terms of compliance with guidelines and service.
