Final agreement reached on the Renewable Energy Directive
21 June 2018
The institutions (EU Commission, Council and Parliament) announced an agreement on June 14 on the recast of the Renewable Energy Directive (see statement here and the compromise agreement attached below). The main highlights of the new agreed text are below:
- The headline target for renewable energy for 2030 is 32%, with an upwards review clause for 2023
- Target for renewables in transport sector set at 14% (in order to push for electric vehicles)
- Member States should increase the share of renewable energy for heating and cooling by 1.3% annually for the period of 2021-2025, for the period covering 2026-2030 the calculation will be based on the level reached in 2020
- Phase-out of palm oil biofuel use in transport by 2030, and freeze of biofuels from food crops to 2020 levels
- RES self-consumption; small renewable energy installations (less than 30 kW) will be exempted from paying grid charges. A last-minute amendment was introduced whereby charges are accepted in the following circumstances:
- if the electricity produced by the self-consumer is being subsidesed via support schemes;
- from December 2026, if the overall share of self-consumption installations exceeds 8% of a Member State's total electricity capacity installed; or
- if the electricity is produced in installations above 30 kW of total installed capacity
