Sustainability Within the Legislation

 
The main cornerstones of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) are the reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and the security of supply.  Unlike the previous 2003 directive, the RED now includes stringent sustainability criteria such that:

  1. The RED and FQD (Fuel Quality Directive) allow only sustainable RTFs to count towards the 10% / 6% target.
  2. Only 'sustainable' RTFs will qualify for financial support.
  3. A double-counting mechanism has been introduced for 'second generation' RTFs in the RED but not the FQD, such that contributions from any such RTFs shall be considered to be twice that made by other RTFs.

Sustainable is defined as follows:

  • GHG emission savings of a minimum of 35% compared to fossil fuels.  This will increase to 50% in 2017 for existing plants.  The Project has been accredited wth over 70% GHG savings.
  • No RTFs made using feedstocks from carbon rich or biologically diverse (ecologically sensitive) land will count towards the 10% target.
  • Social standards demonstrating compliance with eight ILO (International Labour Organisation) conventions (for example, a prohibition on the use of child labour).
  • Sustainability proven through independent auditors.  The Project's use of domestic feedstock will comply with the AFS food certification standards that cover these issues.
  • Compliance with European Commission Reporting Standards in relation to land use changes to assess GHG savings.