Graanul Invest welcomes EU legislators’ agreement on new renewable energy targets and bioenergy rules

Graanul Invest, the world’s leading sustainable biomass and bioenergy producer, welcomes the provisional agreement found on 30th of March between EU legislators on a revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED III).

• Provisional agreement reached between EU legislators on revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED III)Sustainable biomass continues to be recognised as 100% renewable in the EU and zero-rated under the EU ETS
• Agreement includes a significant increase in the EU’s renewable energy targets, requiring an almost doubling in the next 7 years
• RED III highlights the best practices implemented in the Northern Europe forestry sector, including Baltic countries, and sets the most resilient, cascading circular material flow as the best standard for processing the wood and woody biomass throughout the industries.

While the full text is not yet available, the agreement reached by EU negotiators will see a significant increase in the EU’s 2030 renewable energy targets – more than doubling in the coming 7 years when compared with 2021 levels.

Importantly for EU decarbonisation ambitions and energy security, sustainably sourced biomass will continue to be recognised as 100% renewable energy and will be afforded a zero rating under the EU ETS. The agreement demonstrates the continued support of the EU for sustainably sourced bioenergy, which is currently the EU’s single largest source of renewable energy.

Commenting on the developments, Graanul Invest CEO Nicholas Dottino said, “The agreement on the revised Renewable Energy Directive is a huge vote of confidence in sustainably sourced biomass to power the EU’s renewable energy goals. At Graanul Invest, we are ready to support the EU on their ambitious targets”.

Mihkel Jugaste, Graanul CSO, likewise welcomed the agreement on RED III, stating that “As the world’s leading sustainable biomass producer, Graanul Invest is well-placed to support EU Member States on their ambitious decarbonisation agendas, while ensuring that our forest stocks remain protected through our best-practice environmental management. We have the most transparent, certified, controlled, and fully traceable procurement practices for woody biomass in the Baltic Sea region. We fully welcome the new important milestone on the way of substituting fossil fuel with resilient alternatives, including woody biomass and bioenergy.”

The RED III determines the best value for harvested wood and biomass

“In Graanul Invest, we are happy to see, that the best, most resilient, and most efficient practices from our region have been reinstated as the required direction in the RED III agreement. In the Baltic region and around the Baltic Sea, we have set the highest standards for wood fiber resource efficiency and cascading use. The higher the quality of the feedstock, the longer the life cycle of the resulting product. Nothing is wasted. Our integrated local forestry, sawmill and bioenergy sector is a textbook example of a truly functional, industrial-scale circular economy and the most likely existing examples of REDIII-compliant bioenergy and biomass today,“ commented Mr. Jugaste.

As the world’s most efficient producer of sustainable bioenergy, Graanul Invest looks forward to working with stakeholders and national authorities to help meet the ambitious REDIII targets and support decarbonising the EU’s energy mix.

The next step is for the provisional agreement to be formally endorsed by the Council and Parliament, after which it will enter into force.

About Graanul Invest

Graanul Invest is the world’s leading producer of biomass and bioenergy. The group operates 12 modern wood pellet plants in the Baltics and the USA and six CHP-s in Estonia and Latvia.