Alex Trelinski
SPAIN could be taken to court by the European Commission for not fully implementing a directive to promote renewable energy and passing a deadline to make it a national law in June 2021.
If Pedro Sanchez’s government does nothing to remedy the delay, then Brussels could file a complaint with the European Union’s Court of Justice.
Spain is not on its own, with similar warnings coming from the EU’s executive to Ireland, France, and Hungary.
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The directive establishes the legal framework for the development of renewable energies in electricity, heating, cooling and transport in the EU.
It sets a binding EU-wide target for 2030 on renewable energy and includes specific rules for guarantees of origin.
Guarantees of origin are electronic certificates to inform customers about the percentage of energy from renewable sources in a supplier’s energy mix.
The directive also includes sustainability and greenhouse gas emission reduction criteria for biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels, as well as rules on verifying that these fuels meet the required criteria.
The case against Spain and the other three sanctioned countries focuses precisely on these issues of electronic certificates and sustainability.
Brussels has detected gaps in transposition in relation to showing the guarantees of origin for energy from renewable sources.
The European Commission has also noted other issues concerning the criteria for sustainability and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels.
