Mobility

Government proposes changes to law on biofuels, adopts energy efficiency report for 2017

Photo: Pixabay

Published

July 24, 2018

Country

Comments

0

Share

Published:

July 24, 2018

Country:

Comments:

0

Share

The Croatian government has adopted a bill on changes to the law on biofuels, setting a 7% ceiling for the share of first-generation biofuels in the total direct annual energy consumption in transport by 2020, in line with the EU Directive 2015/1513.

Under the bill, the indicative national target of the share of advanced biofuels in transport is set at 0.1%, with an option of raising it next year, according to reports.

Obligatory biofuel suppliers that fail to ensure the required biofuel share in fuel supplies would be subject to an environmental protection fee. According to energetika-net, the bill’s adoption will enable imports of biofuels into Croatia.

An environmental protection fee would also be levied on obligatory suppliers that fail to meet requirements concerning cuts in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Compared to the 2010 levels, the emissions are to be reduced by at least 2% by the end of 2018, at least 3% by end-2019, and at least 6% by end-2020.

At the same time, the bill envisages requiring public transit and railway operators to use electricity produced from renewable energy sources only.

Progress report on achieving energy efficiency targets

The Croatian government has also adopted a report for 2017 on progress in achieving national energy efficiency targets, which shows that primary energy consumption rose by 1.7% in 2016 compared to 2015. The consumption of imported electricity went down 18.5%, biomass 0.4%, and liquid fuels 0.1%, while the consumption of energy from renewables rose 13.6%, coal and coke 7.6%, hydropower 6.5%, heat 6%, and natural gas 4.5%.

In 2016, the share of liquid fuels in total energy consumption stood at 32.3%, down from 35.7% in 2011. In the same period, the shares of natural gas and imported electricity also decreased, to 22.5% and 4.9%, respectively, in 2016. At the same time, the shares of other forms of energy expanded, with the share of hydropower going up from 11.4% to 16.2%, other renewables (wind, solar, geothermal energy, biodiesel, and biogas) from 0.7% to 3.1%, wood and biomass from 12.3% to 12.9%, heat “by 0.1%” to 0.2%, and coal and coke from 7.6% to 7.9%.

Alternative policy measures saw the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund (EPEEF) disburse HRK 277.7 million (about EUR 37.5 million) in subsidies to back a total of HRK 559.8 million (around EUR 75.7 million) in investments that saved 0.39183 PJ of energy and reduced CO2 emissions by 22,811 metric tons in 2017, according to the report.

Comments (0)

Be the first one to comment on this article.

Enter Your Comment
Please wait... Please fill in the required fields. There seems to be an error, please refresh the page and try again. Your comment has been sent.

Related Articles

WISE Serbia Women leaders of energy transition myth reality

WISE Serbia: Women leaders of energy transition are no myth but reality

25 September 2023 - The conference Women of Serbia in Sustainable Energy – Leadership for the Energy Transition was organized by the WISE Serbia women's network

eihp nzeb building Vesna Bukarica, Drazen Jaksic Margareta Zidar

Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar to achieve nearly zero energy standard in its building

19 September 2023 - The office building renovation is part of a larger project, Establishment of the National Training Center for Almost Zero Energy Buildings

Heat pumps twice as efficient as fossil fuel heating - study

Heat pumps twice as efficient as fossil fuel heating – study

14 September 2023 - A new study has found that heat pumps are twice as efficient as fossil fuel heating, even at lower temperatures

Law on Energy Bulgaria bill liberalize wholesale power market energy communities

Bulgaria’s energy bill to liberalize wholesale power market, introduce energy communities

08 September 2023 - The proposed changes to the Law of Energy are heading to Bulgaria's parliament amid strong criticism over possible power price instability