S.L. 545.37 Art. 3Sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions savings criteria for biofuels,bioliquids and biomass.        S.L. 545.33.    S.L. 545.35.    S.L. 545.35.

(1) Energy from biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels shall be taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this sub-regulation only if they fulfil the sustainability and the greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria laid down in sub-regulations (6) to (13):

(a) contributing towards the Union target set in Article 3(1) of the Directive and the renewable energy share of Malta as its contribution thereto;

(b) measuring compliance with renewable energy obligations;

(c) eligibility for financial support for the consumption of biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels.

(2) Biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels which are produced from waste and residues, other than agricultural, aquaculture, fisheries and forestry residues, are required to fulfil only the greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria laid down in sub-regulations (12) and (13) in order to be taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1):

Provided that this sub-regulation shall also apply to waste and residues that are first processed into a product before being further processed into biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels.

(3) Electricity, heating and cooling produced from municipal solid waste shall not be subject to the greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria laid down in sub-regulations (12) and (13).

(4) Biomass fuels shall fulfil the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria laid down in sub-regulations

(6) to (13) if used in installations producing electricity, heating and cooling or fuels with a total rated thermal input equal to or exceeding twenty megawatts (20MW) in the case of solid biomass fuels, and with a total rated thermal input equal to or exceeding two megawatts

(2MW) in the case of gaseous biomass fuels:

Provided that the Minister may require that the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria be applicable to installations with lower total rated thermal input.

(5) The sustainability and the greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria laid down in sub-regulations (6) to (13) shall apply irrespective of the geographical origin of the biomass.

(6) Biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from waste and residues derived not from forestry but from agricultural land shall not be taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1) unless either the operators or the national authorities of the country in which they are produced have monitoring or management plans in place in order to address the impacts on soil quality and soil carbon, and the information about how those impacts are monitored and managed is being reported pursuant to Article 30(3) of the Directive.

(7) Biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from agricultural biomass taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1) shall not be made from raw material obtained from land with a high biodiversity value, (SUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA)

namely land that had one of the following statuses in or after January 2008, whether or not the land continues to have that status:

(a) primary forest and other wooded land, namely forest and other wooded land of native species, where there is no clearly visible indication of human activity and the ecological processes are not significantly disturbed; or

(b) highly biodiverse forest and other wooded land which is species-rich and not degraded, or has been identified as being highly biodiverse by the relevant competent authority, unless evidence is provided that the production of that raw material did not interfere with those nature protection purposes; or

(c) areas designated:

(i) by law or by the relevant competent authority for nature protection purposes; or

(ii) for the protection of rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems or species recognised by international agreements or included in lists drawn up by intergovernmental organisations or the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, subject to their recognition in accordance with the first sub-paragraph of Article 30(4) of the Directive;

unless evidence is provided that the production of that raw material did not interfere with those nature protection purposes;

or

(d) highly biodiverse grassland spanning more than one hectare that is:

(i) natural, namely grassland that would remain grassland in the absence of human intervention and that maintains the natural species composition and ecological characteristics and processes; or

(ii) non-natural, namely grassland that would cease to be grassland in the absence of human intervention and that is species-rich and not degraded and has been identified as being highly biodiverse by the relevant competent authority, unless evidence is provided that the harvesting of the raw material is necessary to preserve its status as highly biodiverse grassland.

(8) Biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from agricultural biomass taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1) shall not be made from raw material obtained from land with high-carbon stock, namely land that had one of the following statuses in January 2008 and no longer has that status:

(a) wetlands, namely land that is covered with or saturated by water permanently or for a significant part of the year;or

(b) continuously forested areas, namely land spanning more than one hectare with trees higher than five metres and a canopy cover of more than thirty per cent (30%), or trees able to reach those thresholds or in situ;

(c) land spanning more than one hectare with trees higher than five (5) metres and a canopy cover of between ten and thirty per cent (10% - 30%), or trees able to reach those thresholds in situ, unless evidence is provided that the carbon stock of the area before and after conversion is such that, when the methodology laid down in Part C of the First Schedule is applied, the conditions laid down in sub-regulations (12) and

(13) would be fulfilled:

Provided that this sub-regulation shall not apply if, at the time the raw material was obtained, the land had the same status as it had in January 2008.

(9) Biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from agricultural biomass taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1) shall not be made from raw material obtained from land that was peatland in January 2008, unless evidence is provided that the cultivation and harvesting of that raw material does not involve drainage of previously undrained soil.

(10) Biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from forest biomass taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1) shall meet the following criteria to minimise the risk of using forest biomass derived from unsustainable production:

(a) the country in which forest biomass was harvested has national or sub-national laws applicable in the area of harvest as well as monitoring and enforcement systems in place ensuring:

(i) the legality of harvesting operations;

(ii) forest regeneration of harvested areas; (SUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA)

(iii) that areas designated by international or national law or by the relevant competent authority for nature protection purposes, including in wetlands and peatlands, are protected;

(iv) that harvesting is carried out considering maintenance of soil quality and biodiversity with the aim of minimising negative impacts; and

(v) that harvesting maintains or improves the long-term production capacity of the forest; and

(b) when the evidence referred to in paragraph (a) of this sub-regulation is not available, the biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from forest biomass shall be taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and

(c) of sub-regulation (1) if management systems are in place at forest sourcing area level ensuring:

(i) the legality of harvesting operations;

(ii) forest regeneration of harvested areas;

(iii) that areas designated by international or national law or by the relevant competent authority for nature protection purposes, including in wetlands and peatlands, are protected unless evidence is provided that the harvesting of that raw material does not interfere with those nature protection purposes;

(iv) that harvesting is carried out considering the maintenance of soil quality and biodiversity with the aim of minimising negative impacts; and

(v) that harvesting maintains or improves the long-term production capacity of the forest.

(11) Biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from forest biomass taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1) shall meet the following land-use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) criteria:

(a) the country or regional economic integration organisation of origin of the forest biomass is a Party to the Paris Agreement and

(i) it has submitted a nationally determined contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), covering emissions and removals from agriculture, forestry and land use which ensures that changes in carbon stock associated with biomass harvest are accounted towards the country's commitment to reduce or limit greenhouse gas emissions as specified in the nationally determined contribution; or

(ii) it has national or sub-national laws in place, in accordance with Article 5 of the Paris Agreement, applicable in the area of harvest, to conserve and enhance carbon stocks and sinks, and providing evidence that reported LULUCF-sector emissions do not exceed removals;

(b) where the evidence referred to in paragraph (a) of this sub-regulation is not available, the biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels produced from forest biomass shall be taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and

(c) of sub-regulation (1) if management systems are in place at forest sourcing area level to ensure that carbon stocks and sinks levels in the forest are maintained, or strengthened over the long term.

(12) The greenhouse gas emission savings from the use of biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels taken into account for the purposes referred to in sub-regulation (1) shall be:

(a) at least fifty per cent (50%) for biofuels, biogas consumed in the transport sector, and bioliquids produced in th installations in operation on or before 5 October 2015;

(b) at least sixty per cent (60%) for biofuels, biogas consumed in the transport sector, and bioliquids produced in installations starting operation from 6 October 2015 until 31st December 2020;

(c) at least sixty-five per cent (65%) for biofuels, biogas consumed in the transport sector, and bioliquids st produced in installations starting operation from 1 January 2021;

(d) at least seventy per cent (70%) for electricity, heating and cooling production from biomass fuels used in st st installations starting operation from 1 January 2021 until 31 December 2025, and eighty per cent (80%) for installations st starting operation from 1 January 2026:

Provided that an installation shall be considered to be in operation once the physical production of biofuels, biogas consumed in the transport sector and bioliquids, and the physical production of heating and cooling and electricity from biomass fuels has started. (SUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA)

(13) The greenhouse gas emission savings from the use of biofuels, biogas consumed in the transport sector, bioliquids and biomass fuels used in installations producing heating, cooling and electricity shall be calculated in accordance with sub-regulation (1) of regulation 5.

(14) Electricity from biomass fuels shall be taken into account for the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1) only if it meets one or more of the following requirements:

(a) it is produced in installations with a total rated thermal input below fifty megawatts (50MW);

(b) for installations with a total rated thermal input from fifty to one hundred megawatts (50 to 100MW), it is produced applying high-efficiency cogeneration technology, or, for electricity-only installations, meeting an energy efficiency level associated with the best available techniques (BAT-AEELs) as defined in Commission Implementing Decision

(EU) 2017/1442;

(c) for installations with a total rated thermal input above one hundred megawatts (100MW), it is produced applying high-efficiency cogeneration technology, or, for electricity-only installations, achieving a net-electrical efficiency of at least thirty-six per cent (36%);

(d) it is produced applying Biomass CO Capture and 2 Storage:

Provided that for the purposes of paragraphs (a), (b) and

(c) of sub-regulation (1), electricity-only-installations shall be taken into account only if they do not use fossil fuels as a main fuel and only if there is no cost-effective potential for the application of high-

efficiency cogeneration technology according to the assessment carried out in accordance with the Energy Efficiency Regulations.

(15) Sub-regulation (14) shall:

(a) apply only to installations starting operation or th converted to the use of biomass fuels after 25 December 2021 for the purposes of paragraphs (a) and (b) of sub-regulation (1);

(b) be without prejudice to support granted under support schemes in accordance with regulation 4 of the

Promotion of Energy from Renewable Sources Regulations approved by 25 December 2021 for the purposes of paragraph

(c) of sub-regulation (1);

(c) not apply to electricity from installations which are the object of a specific notification to the Commission based on the duly substantiated existence of risks for the security of supply of electricity:

Provided that the Minister may apply higher energy efficiency requirements to installations with lower rated thermal input.

(16) For the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c)

of sub-regulation (1), and without prejudice to regulations 27 and 28

of the Promotion of Energy from Renewable Sources Regulations, the

Regulator shall not refuse to take into account, on other sustainability grounds, biofuels and bioliquids obtained in compliance with this regulation, provided that this sub-regulation shall be without prejudice th to public support granted under support schemes approved before 24 December 2018.

(17) For the purposes referred to in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of sub-regulation (1), the Minister may establish additional sustainability criteria for biomass fuels.