The document discusses the EU legal framework for renewable energy and support for biogas production under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for 2014-2020. It outlines that while the CAP provides no direct support for biomass or bioenergy production under Pillar I, Pillar II Rural Development programs remain the key policy mechanism. Support possibilities under Rural Development include investments in agricultural holdings for on-farm bioenergy production; processing, marketing, and developing renewable energy; and basic services/infrastructure like biomass distribution networks. Cooperation projects and producer groups for jointly marketing biomass are also supported.

1. Biogas: EU legal framework and support
possibilities under the
Common Agricultural Policy
Andreas Gumbert
DG Agriculture and Rural Development, Unit H4
European Commission

2. Content
• EU legal framework for renewable energy
• Support for biogas under the CAP 2014-2020

3. EU Renewable Energy Directive
• 20% renewable energy by 2020 (EU average)
• Choice of type of RE and support mechanism lies with MS
• Sustainability requirements for liquid biofuels and bioliquids
50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
National 2020 RE targets

4. EU Common Agricultural Policy
2014-2020
Common
Agricultural Policy
Pillar I:
Direct support
Market measures
277.85 billion EUR (2014-20)
• No direct support
for biomass or
bioenergy
production
• Cross-compliance
• Greening
obligations
Pillar II:
Rural Development
84.94 billion EUR (2014-20)
• RD Policy remains
the key policy for
renewable energy
under the CAP
• National/regional
RD plans

5. What is new?
Pillar I

6. The new greening architecture of the CAP
Implementation
mechanism
Voluntary
with compensation
for cost incurred
and income forgone
(decoupled “green”
payment per hectare)
6
Rural
development
Greening
Cross compliance
Agricultural area
(eligible for direct payments)
Cumulative
environmental
benefits
Mandatory
with financial
support
Regulatory
(Statutory
Management
Requirements and
Good Agricultural
Environmental
Conditions)
Agricultural
Research
European
Innovation
Partnership
Farm
Advisory
System

7. The green direct payment
7
• 30% of direct payment envelope
• Conditions: Maintaining permanent grassland, crop
diversification and ecological focus areas (EFA)
• EFA (5% of arable surface):
• May include: field margins, buffer strips, fallow land, landscape features, afforested area,
terraces, areas with catch crops, green cover and nitrogen fixing crops, short rotation coppices,
agro-forestry, strips of land along forest edges – conversion/weighting factors
• Member States to choose permitted uses from this list
• Additional incentive to grow biogas feedstocks is rather small

8. What is new?
Pillar II

9. Strategic programming
Focus areas
Rural development
priorities
1. Knowledge
transfer and
Innovation
2. Farm viability,
competitiveness,
innovative farm
technologies,
sustainable forest
management
3. Food chain
organisation, incl.
processing/marketing,
animal welfare and
risk management
4. Restoring,
preserving and
enhancing
ecosystems
5. Resource efficiency
and shift towards a
low carbon and
climate resilient
economy
6. Social inclusion,
poverty reduction
and economic
development
in rural areas
Cross-cutting
objectives
Innovation, Climate Change and
Environment
(a) innovation, cooperation, and the development of the knowledge base;
(b) links between agriculture, food production and forestry and research and
innovation;
(c) lifelong learning and vocational training.
(a) economic performance of all farms and farm restructuring and
modernisation, notably to increase market participation/orientation and
diversification;
(b) facilitating entry of adequately skilled farmers and generational renewal.
(a) integration of primary producers into the agri-food chain: quality schemes,
adding value, promotion in local markets and short supply circuits, producer
groups/ organisations;
(b) farm risk prevention and management.
(a) biodiversity, including in Natura 2000 areas, areas facing natural or other
specific constraints and high nature value farming, and the state of European
landscapes;
(b) water management, including fertiliser and pesticide management;
(c) prevention of soil erosion and soil management.
(a) efficiency in water use
(b) efficiency in energy use
(c) renewable sources of energy, by products, wastes and non-food raw
material for the bio-economy
(d) reduction of greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions
(e) carbon conservation and sequestration
(a) diversification, creation and development of small enterprises and job
creation
(b) local development in rural areas
(c) information and communication technologies (ICT) in rural areas
9
30%
minimal
spending

10. What type of support is possible
under Rural Development?

11. Investments in agricultural holdings
• Examples:
General State Aid rules
apply for marketing of RE
ouside the farm
• Agricultural holdings: Production of bio-energy for on-farm use
• Processing/marketing/development: Processing of agricultural biomass for RE (by actors
other than agricultural holdings)
• Infrastructure: Installations/infrastructure for distribution of RE using biomass and
other RE sources (solar, wind, geothermal)
• Conditions (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 639/2014):
• Maximum proportions of cereals and other starch rich crops, sugars and oil crops
used for bioenergy production, including biofuels
• Minimum utilization of heat in installations for electricity production from biomass (level to
be determined by the MS)
• Minimum energy efficiency standards for investments into energy infrastructure
• Sustainability criteria, including Article 17(2) to (6) of Directive 2009/28/EC
11

12. Farm and business development
• Examples:
• Business start-up for RE producers and inter-linked activities
• Creation & development of non-agricultural activities: RE production
• Different RE activities (e.g. biomass, wind, solar, geothermal)
• RE production as part of non-agricultural diversification activities, if the
production exceeds the annual energy consumption on the holding
12

13. Basic services and village renewal
in rural areas
• Examples:
• Distribution networks for heat/electric power/gas from biomass or other renewable
sources
• Facilities to produce and use RE in rural municipalities (e.g. district heating networks to
use process heat of bio-energy plants)
• Support of RE infrastructure possible without any size limitation (i.e. large-scale
projects are covered)
13

14. Co-operation
and
Setting up of producer groups and organisations
• Examples cooperation:
• Pilot and demonstration projects for RE
• Development of new products, practices, processes and technologies for RE
• Horizontal and vertical co-operation among supply chain actors in the
sustainable provision of biomass for use in food and energy production and
industrial processes.
• Examples producer groups:
• Jointly placing on the market of biomass; joint supply to bulk buyers

15. Conclusions
• Biogas important for EU renewable energy
objectives
• EU RE policy main driver
• CAP provides important support options under
Rural Development Policy
• Assessment of RDPs ongoing

16. Thank you