No binding criteria on biomass for heat and power generation

The European Commission does not intend to come forward with a legislative proposal on legally binding sustainability criteria for biomass used to generate heat and power. A Commission report published in February considers that binding criteria would generate significant costs for economic operators. Instead, the Commission proposes criteria that Member States will be free to apply. The criteria would apply to energy producers of one megawatt thermal or 1MW electrical capacity or above. The Commission will assess the risks posed by heat and power production from biomass, and whether sustainability schemes have caused market distortions, by 31 December 2011.

The Commission’s Impact Assessment accompanying the Report is available here:
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/renewables/transparency_platform/doc/2010_report/sec_2010_0065_1_impact_assesment_en.pdf