Idae
Biomass is a fuel which is virtually CO2 neutral, so it can play a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including CO2, and thus contribute to reducing the impact of climate change.
In recent years, and largely due to the significant growth of biomass in other European countries such as Austria and Germany, environmental legislation has been developed with the aim of ensuring a significant and sustainable use of biomass.
There are 4 legislative acts that must be considered:
Royal Decree 430/2004 (transposition of Directive 2001/80/EC) establishing new rules on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants, and subsequent amendments such as those included in Royal Decree 815/2013, approving the Regulation of industrial emissions. Royal Decree 430/2013 concerns installations with a nominal thermal input of more than 50 MW and includes emissions limitations for solid, liquid and gaseous fuels. Among others, it establishes emission limit values for particulates, SO2 and NOx
Directive (EU) 2015/2193 on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from medium-sized combustion plants. This Directive concerns installations with a rated thermal input of between 1 and 50 MW and is to be transposed into Spanish law. Among others, it establishes emission limit values for particulates, SO2 and NOX. The MAGRAMA is preparing a draft royal decree on the protection of the atmosphere which, among other issues, will serve to transpose this Directive.
Regulation (EU) 2015/1189 on ecological design requirements for solid fuel boilers. This Regulation is already in force. It concerns solid fuel boilers of less than 500 kW, and will apply to new equipment from 01/01/2020. Among others, it sets requirements for energy efficiency and emissions of particulates, gaseous organic compounds, NOX and CO. It should be borne in mind that until recently, for this type of equipment (solid fuel boilers of less than 500 kW), the UNE 303-5 standard was the only national reference in terms of performance and emissions of particulates, gaseous organic compounds and CO.
Regulation (EU) 2015/1185 on ecological design requirements for local heating appliances (stoves) burning solid fuel. This Regulation is already in force. It concerns solid fuel stoves of less than 50 kW, and will apply to new equipment from 01/01/2022. Among others, it sets requirements for energy efficiency and emissions of particulates, gaseous organic compounds, NOX and CO.
In addition to these 4 legislative acts which focus on reducing emissions from this type of equipment, there are 2 other regulations concerning the energy labelling of boilers and local heating appliances (stoves) with which it is important to be familiar:
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/1187 on energy labelling of solid fuel boilers, including the correction of errors published on 07/08/2015 in the Official Journal of the European Union. This Regulation is already in force. It concerns solid fuel boilers of less than 70 kW, and will apply to new equipment from 01/04/2017.
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/1186 on energy labelling of local heating appliances (stoves). This Regulation is already in force. It concerns local heating appliances (stoves) of less than 50 kW, will apply to new equipment from 01/01/2018.
That is to say, from April 2017 for boilers and January 2018 for stoves, we will have information about the energy efficiency of this type of equipment through an energy label similar to that which is available today for everyday appliances such as fridges and washing machines.