Biofuel policy in Ireland
General
The
largest share of renewable electricity in Ireland is from hydropower
and wind power. Ireland's target for renewable generation is to supply
15% of electricity demand by 2010 with major contribution expected from
wind energy, as further large scale hydro development in Ireland is
unlikely.
The
Renewable Energy Division of the Department of Communications, Energy
and Natural Resources is responsible for implementing measures to
increase the penetration of renewable energy technologies in
electricity production in Ireland. Ireland launched its programme to
promote electricity from renewable energy sources in 1996 in "Renewable
Energy - A Strategy for the Future". Policy on renewables was reviewed
in 1999 with the publication of a Green Paper on Sustainable Energy. In
December 2003 a further review of the sector was launched with the
publication of the consultation document “Options for Future Renewable
Energy Policy, Targets and Programmes”. This was followed in May 2004
with the setting up of the Renewable Energy Development Group, which
has been considering the future options on policies, targets,
programmes and support measures to develop the increased use of
renewable energy in the electricity market to 2010 and beyond. The
development of Ireland's renewable energy resources in electricity
generation this has been achieved primarily through the administration
of competitions under the Alternative Energy Requirement (AER)
Programme. The six competitions held to date have been conducted under
a competitive tendering process.
On 1st May 2006 the
publication of the next market support mechanism for renewables was
announced, to be known as the Renewable Energy Feed In Tariff (REFIT).
In September 2009 additional categories were added to the list of
eligible technologies, which at the time of writing (January 2010)
is still not definitive as the schem is subject to state aids
clearance which has yet to be obtained from the European Commission .
The planned Terms of Conditions of the following REFIT II - Additional
Categories (September 2009) relate to support for the construction of
biomass/anaerobic digestion CHP, ocean energy (wave and tidal)
and offshore wind.
According
to the Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources
the target for the share of energy from renewable sources in gross
final consumption of energy in the year 2020 for Ireland is 16% (in the
year 2005 the share was 3.1%). The Directive has a mandatory 10 %
target for transport to be achieved by all Member States, which refers
to renewable sources as a whole, not biofuels alone.
Renewable energy projections according to the National Renewable Energy Action Plan for Ireland
The
National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) for Ireland was submitted
in July 2010. The target according to Annex I of Directive 2009/28/EC
is 16% for the year 2020 and the projected NREAP share in that year
exactly matches the target. According to the projection, the most
important contribution in the year 2020 is expected from wind power
(12.0 TWh or 1029 ktoe, 45% of all renewable energy). Second important
contribution is expected from biomass (renewable heating and cooling)
(486 ktoe, 21% of all renewable energy). The third largest contribution
is from biodiesel (renewable transport) (342 ktoe, 15% of all renewable
energy). Wind power contributes with 4.6 GW (12.0 TWh) in the year 2020
(onshore wind 4.1 GW and 10.2 TWh, offshore wind 0.6 GW and 1.7 TWh).
For solar photovoltaic the 2020 contribution is projected to be 0.0 GW
(0.0 TWh). For solar thermal the 2020 contribution is projected to be
20 ktoe. The two most important biofuels are projected to contribute
342 ktoe (biodiesel) and 139 ktoe (bioethanol / bio-ETBE) by 2020. The
renewable electricity production from solid biomass amounts to 0.7 TWh
(59 ktoe) and for biogas it is expected to be 0.3 TWh (27 ktoe). The
consumption of renewable heat is expected to amount to 453 ktoe for
solid biomass and 33 ktoe for biogas.
Renewable transport fuels
(biofuels)
In
February 2007 Ireland announced a move to a biofuels obligation from
2009. Under this scheme, fuel suppliers to the Irish market will be
required to ensure that biofuels represent a cer-tain percentage of
their annual fuels. With targets as high as 5.75% and 10%, the
obligation will provide enhanced opportunities for farmers to
contribute to this emerging market. Targets of 5.75% for 2010 and 10%
by 2020 have been announced as part of the obligation.
To
increase the penetration of biofuels, Irish farmers are also being
incentivised by a new €6 million bioenergy scheme to top-up the EU
energy crop premium by the Department of Agricul-ture, Fisheries and
Food. Under this scheme, farmers will receive an additional €80 per
hectare on top of the existing €45 premium. In that context, that
Department is providing an additional €6m in the 2007 - 2009 period to
support the supply of raw materials from the emerging energy crops
sector for biofuel production. The €80 payment is limited to a maximum
ceiling of 37.5 hectares per producer in 2007. It is anticipated this
threshold will be increased further during the year. This is an
additional incentive for tillage farmers to grow energy crops,
particularly those farmers who had previously grown sugar beet.
The
Department of Transport and Marine and the German-Irish Chamber of
Commerce has in-troduced a pilot project “Biofuels for Transport” to
incentivise the use of Pure Plant Oil biofuel among transport
operators, in particular those with fleets of vehicles. The scheme, was
launched early in 2007 and over 40 vehicles have been selected to
receive a 75% grant to modify their engines. All selected vehicles will
have engines modified and be running on PPO by the end of July 2007.
Ireland’s
Bioenergy Action Plan, published in March 2007, commits to public bus
companies moving as soon as possible towards a 5% blend in all their
existing diesel fleet and to ensure that all of their new fossil fleet
purchases are capable of using biofuels at blends of at least 30%.
The Biofuels Obligation Scheme (BOS) came into effect on 1st July 2010. Under
this recently enacted legislation, the National Oil Reserves Agency (NORA) has
been mandated to administer the Biofuels Obligation Scheme (BOS). The
legislation sets out in detail all the specific requirements of the BOS.
Economic Operators who place Motor Fuels and/or Biofuels on the market in the
Republic of Ireland should familiarize themselves fully with the legislation and
the obligations that arise therefrom. The key requirements of the BOS can be
summarized as follows:
- Every Oil Company and Oil Consumer liable to pay the NORA Levy (the ‘Obligated
Parties’) must, in each obligation period, ensure that not less than 4 litres in
every 100 litres of road transport fuel is biofuel. This is called the ‘biofuel
obligation’. This ratio equates to 4.166% of petroleum-based motor fuel placed
on the market (4.166% being 4/96: see Section 44C of the Legislation). The
first obligation period will run from from 1st July to 31st Dec 2010;
thereafter, the obligation period will be the calendar year.
- In the case of Oil Companies or Oil Consumers who are already subject to the
NORA Levy, NORA will automatically open a ‘biofuel obligation account’; see
Section 44E(1) of the Legislation.
- Producers and suppliers of biofuels who are NOT already subject to the NORA
Levy, and who will, pursuant to the BOS legislation, wish to open biofuel
obligation accounts with NORA must apply directly to NORA to do so. Such
applications must be accompanied by a Tax Clearance Certificate and other such
information as may be prescribed; see Section 44E (4) of legislation. (A
standard application procedure, will be issued shortly.)
- All Biofuel Accounts will be maintained in electronic form or in such form which
NORA shall determine.
- Biofuel Account holders shall apply to NORA for certificates for biofuels
placed on the market. One certificate will be issued for each litre of biofuel
provided that fuel meets the compliance requirements on sustainability. NORA
will maintain a record of all certificates issued and of the balance of
certificates held by each account holder. Statements of account will be issued
quarterly. (A standard application procedure will be issued shortly.)
- Biofuel Account holders may, under the provisions of Section 44(G) 1 of the
Regulations, apply for 2 certificates per litre in the case of biofuels produced
from material that can be considered to be a biodegradable waste, residue,
non-food cellulosic material, ligno-cellulosic material or algae. In this
regard, prior to issuing such certificates, NORA is obliged to consult with EPA,
NSAI, SEAI and the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government; see
Section 44G (1), 44G (11)(a) & 44G (11)(b) of the Regulations.
- While the following is not yet required, in the future all applications for
Certificates will have to include a statement by the biofuel obligation account
concerned, in the prescribed form, and including the prescribed information,
particulars and documentation, that they have complied with:
a. The sustainability criteria for biofuels and
bio-liquids set out in paragraphs 2 to 6 of Article 7 of the EU
Directive (The EU Directive is 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 23rd April 2009
on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and
amending and subsequently repealing
Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC).
b. Any requirements for verification of compliance
with those sustainability criteria for the purposes of
Article 18 of the EU Directive.
Future programme changes
expected
No information available.
Sources
Renewable energy factsheet Ireland,
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/energy_policy/facts_en.htm (sourced January 2008)
Department
of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (DCENR), Renewable
Energy Feed in Tariff (RE-FIT - 2006), A Competition for Electricity
Generation From Biomass, Hydro and Wind,
http://www.dcenr.gov.ie/NR/rdonlyres/E260E316-B65A-4FDC-92F0-9F623BA18B55/0/REFITtermsandconditions.doc (sourced September 2008)
Department of Communications, Energy
and Natural Resources (DCENR)- Compliance with Directive 2003/30/EC
“Report on measures taken to promote the use of biofuels or other
renewable fuels to replace diesel or petrol. Compliance with Directive
2003/30/EC (Article 4)”, July 2007,
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/res/legislation/biofuels_members_states_en.htm
Directive
2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April
2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and
amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and
2003/30/EC (Entry into force on June 25th, 2009), download from
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32009L0028:EN:NOT
The National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs) are all published on the Transparency Platform on Renewable Energy: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/renewables/transparency_platform/action_plan_en.htm (sourced July - December 2010)National Oil Reserves Agency http://www.nora.ie/biofuels/biofuels_obligation_scheme.476.476.htm (sourced June 2011)
Renewable Energy Projections as Published in the National Renewable Energy Action Plans of the European Member States, http://www.ecn.nl/nreap (sourced December 2010)
Interactive EurObserv’ER Database
http://www.eurobserv-er.org
Last update: June 2011
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