E-Energymarket

Co-firing of biomass will be mandatory for Dutch Powerplants

Editorial news of E-Energy Market by: Energeia

In the future it will be mandatory for coal-fired plants to co-fire biomass, according to minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation Maxime Verhagen (EL&I) in the Dutch government’s Energy Report.

In the future it will be mandatory for coal-fired plants to co-fire biomass, according to minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation Maxime Verhagen (EL&I) in the Dutch government’s Energy Report. The minister had contemplated taking measures to help speed up the sustainability process in the Dutch energy landscape. Introducing a supplier obligation and making it mandatory to co-fire biomass were contemplated as possible measures. Verhagen is keeping a supplier obligation on the backburner as an option for a later date.

Details on the terms and conditions have yet to be agreed in consultation with the energy sector. The Energy Report refers to the mandatory co-firing of biomass in coal-fired plants as an addition to the SDE+ (the transformed subsidy scheme for the generation of clean energy that is to commence on 1 July). The SDE+ scheme is aimed at achieving the most at the lowest possible cost. And mandatory co-firing of biomass fits this description. Verhagen called it "one of the cheapest renewable energy options in the Netherlands."

Up to now the co-firing of biomass (aimed at reducing the CO2 emissions of coal-fired plants) was funded through the MEP subsidy scheme. The MEP scheme is coming to an end and the government coalition does not view a new subsidy scheme as an option. Coal-fired plants emit relatively large amounts of CO2 and the Netherlands has to meet a European 14% sustainable energy target in 2020. Making it mandatory to co-fire biomass would account for 2 percentage points of the target. The government coalition bases this on 33-50 PJ in 2020. Other measures to promote sustainable energy are good for 9 percentage points, the government believes. The remainder would then have to come from imports and any future incentive measures.

Verhagen had previously been criticised by the Lower House of Parliament because his policy to date was deemed insufficient to achieve the target. The opposition parties argued he would never be able to achieve the climate targets with the SDE subsidy scheme and the Green Deal. That has changed, the minister said in a response to the report. The supplier obligation is an option which Verhagen could also use in the long-term. In that case the subsidy scheme could perhaps end altogether because the minister sees the obligation for suppliers to offer an increasing amount of green energy as an alternative stimulus.

Various obstacles would still have to be removed before it could be introduced, Verhagen said. Negative effects like windfall profits, for example, would have to be overcome. Windfall profits refer to a situation that energy companies with a relatively cheap technique make excessive profit on the green energy they generate. The minister also wants to assess whether a supplier obligation is a good fit in the European market and gauge the effects, which requires “careful consideration.”

Industry association Energie Nederland agreed. "The supplier obligation cannot be introduced just like that," said spokesman Sjoerd Marbus. According to him the idea is: make preparations during this government’s term in office and introduce it in the next term. The obligation to co-fire biomass is a good step for now. Marbus said. "We gladly accept the obligations that contribute to increasing sustainability. We will be discussing the details in the coming months." The spokesman was unable to say when he thought the obligation to co-fire biomass would commence.

Essent is in favour of co-firing biomass but at the same time welcomes the introduction of a supplier obligation. Spokesman Jeroen Brouwers was not yet able to comment on the content of the Energy Report.

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Categories : Co-firing, National policies, Policy and Legislation, Power (electricity) generation, Europe