Sept. 14-15, 2022 — LONDON: Story snip from ICIS (CarrZee note: the Tweet link I had here earlier, then disappeared, apparently was deleted. So I’m sending this replacement / correction / clarification Thursday. Apologies for any confusion):
MEPs vote to remove additionality principle for renewable hydrogen production
Jake Stones
14-Sep-2022
Additional reporting by Gary Hornby
LONDON (ICIS)–Members of the European Parliament voted to approve an amendment to the renewable energy directive on Wednesday that dramatically altered the criteria for producing renewable hydrogen, potentially overriding key components of the European Commission’s draft delegated act.
When voting on the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) on Wednesday, MEPs narrowly carried the key amendment, which alters the rules for producing renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO), also known as renewable hydrogen, by 314 votes in favour to 310 against.
Overall, hydrogen is considered renewable if the power source is from a renewable asset. This can take the form of direct connection between an electrolyser and a renewable asset, or it can be via a renewable power purchase agreement.
However, further criteria to label hydrogen as renewable were included in the directive and via a draft delegated act from the commission, which Amendment 13 on Wednesday largely overrode.
ADDITIONALITY SCRAPPED
One of the most debated points to the directive’s Article 27, which described the rules for producing RFNBOs, was the principle of additionality. It stated that a renewable asset “comes into operation after, or at the same time as, the installation producing the renewable liquid and gaseous transport fuels of non-biological origin”.
This meant that only new renewable capacity could be used to produce renewable hydrogen, preventing hydrogen producers from potentially signing (CarrZee: not “singing”) a renewable-power purchase agreement with existing assets.
However, Amendment 13 does not include an additionality principle. Therefore, following the MEP vote, no such criteria will apply to producers of RFNBO.
Markus Pieper, the rapporteur responsible for the revision of the directive, said at a press conference following the vote that “we have ensured that [the criteria for hydrogen production] doesn’t become excessively complicated”.
One of the key arguments for the inclusion of additionality criteria was to prevent current renewable power being directed away from the decarbonisation of the current power system, rather than being distributed to hydrogen production.
The European Commission’s draft delegated act to Article 27 also included principles of additionality for both direct and indirect connection between a renewable asset and a hydrogen production facility….see link above
@Leondegraaf7 tweet that disappeared, for transparency:
