EU Announcement of REPowerEU Plan for Energy Independence

On the 8th of March 2022, the European Commission published a communication of a Joint European Action for providing affordable, secure, and sustainable energy. The communication outlined a plan to make Europe independent from Russian fossil fuels well in advance the of 2030 target date. This communication outlined the foundation of the REPowerEU plan.

Goals of the Commission:

From summer 2022, Member States will use the REPowerEU plan to progressively eliminate the EU’s dependence on Russian oil and gas by raising decarbonization ambitions and accelerating the pace of energy transition targets. This will be largely achieved by accelerating the EU Green Deal while simultaneously introducing a raft of new incentives.

REPowerEU is immediately targeting doubling the production of sustainable biomethane in order to begin replacing natural gas with renewable gases. The Common Agricultural Policy will be used to a greater extent so as to use agricultural waste for the production of green biomethane. The Commission will have Member States create go-to areas that are particularly suitable for renewable energy projects and accelerate the permitting process in order to fast-track development; to treat these projects as being in the overriding public interest which they are. These measures and the REPowerEU program have been affirmed via the Versailles Declaration of March 11th, 2022.

REPowerEU statements and goals as per the European Commission:

- EU security lies in renewable energy and diversification of supply,

- renewables give the EU a freedom to choose an energy source that is clean,

cheap, reliable, and is created in Europe for Europe,

- with the REPowerEU plan, the EU can end its dependence on Russian gas and

repower Europe,

- Fit for 55, once implemented, will reduce the EU's total gas consumption by 30%

by 2030. That's 100 billion cubic meters of gas the EU will no longer need,

- by the end of 2022, the EU can replace 100 billion cubic meters of gas imports

from Russia. That is two-thirds of what the EU currently imports from Russia. This

will end the EU’s over-dependency on Russia,

- REPowerEU is the EU plan to make Europe independent from Russian gas,

- the plan is based on two tracks - diversification, and faster reduction of

dependence on fossil fuels:

o diversify supply and bring in more renewable gases,

o with more LNG and pipeline imports, the EU can replace 60 billion cubic

meters of Russian gas within the next 12 months,

o doubling sustainable production of biomethane, the EU can replace another 18

billion cubic meters of foreign natural gas, as well as using the Common

Agricultural Policy to help farmers become energy producers,

o the EU will increase the production and import of renewable hydrogen. A

Hydrogen Accelerator will develop integrated infrastructure and offer all

Member States access to affordable renewable hydrogen. 20 million tonnes of

hydrogen can replace 50 billion cubic meters of Russian gas,

- the EU will also start replacing natural gas with renewable gases. This, in sum, is

the first pillar of REPowerEU,

- in parallel, the EU will accelerate its clean energy transition. Renewables will

create a more independent EU, and energy which is cleaner, more affordable

and with great reliable than the volatile gas market,

- REPowerEU is the plan to break the EU’s dependency on Russian gas, and to find

freedom in its energy choices.

- a reduction in bureaucratic red tape. A renewables revolution can only happen

through the reduction of application and permit delay, to treat these projects

as being in the overriding public interest - for they are,

- the priority is reducing the need for fossil gas in the first place - by boosting

alternatives and saving energy. This means more biomethane and renewable

hydrogen.

Summary:

The Communications outlines the need to reduce the dependence on Russian energy, with the REPowerEU plan addressing how to accomplish this goal given the current geo-political situation.

The Communication emphasizes the importance of a rapid clean energy transition to first reduce, then eliminate dependency on Russian gas, oil, and coal. To this end the Commission declares itself ready to implement the plan by this summer. To achieve this goal the Commission has set ambitious targets for both the short and medium-term. In the short-term, reduce the demand for Russian gas by two-thirds by the end of 2022 with a medium-term goal of phasing out all dependence on Russian fossil fuels before 2030.

A long-term energy strategy is primarily based on increasing the renewables of both wind and solar along with an increased production of renewable gases; biomethane and hydrogen, accelerating heat pump deployment as well as an expansion of nuclear generation, including possibly small modular reactors.

While highlighting the EU’s pathway to a clean energy transition, as per the broader European Green Deal and ‘Fit for 55’ package, the Communication is also an unequivocal position paper as to the EU’s willingness to do whatever necessary and in its power to free itself as soon as possible from its dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

The EU’s new stance with the affirmation of the REPowerEU Plan via the Versailles Declaration, raises the importance of biomethane as a green replacement for traditional natural gas.

The announcement of immediately working to double the production of clean biomethane means an increased demand for the products of Sprouter Energy B.V. The waste to energy programs of Sprouter Energy B.V. will have an even greater impact on the transition to net-zero energy as its products of green biomethane and green hydrogen will contribute to the collective achievements under REpowerEU.