Fire wood, wood briquettes, wood pellets, wood chips and other materials of wood used to produce energy; Fuel wood, in logs, billets, twigs, faggots or similar forms; wood in chips or particles; sawdust and wood waste and scrap, whether or not agglomerated in logs, briquettes, pellets or similar forms (HS 4401)

Bekendtgørelse om bæredygtighed og reduktion af drivhusgasemissioner for biomassebrændsler og flydende biobrændsler til energiformål, m.v. og Bekendtgørelse om Håndbog om opfyldelse af bæredygtighedskrav og krav til reduktion af drivhusgasemissioner for biomassebrændsler til energiformål (HB 2021)

The proposed rules establish requirements for biomass fuels produced from wood if used in installations producing electricity, heating, cooling or fuels. The draft rules are an addition to the rules laid out in Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (REDII).

REDII covers installations with a total rated thermal input equal to or exceeding 20 MW in the case of solid biomass and with a thermal input equal or exceeding 2 MW for gaseous biomass fuels. The Danish additional rules will, for solid biomass fuels produced from wood, cover installations producing electricity, heating, cooling or fuels with a thermal input down to 2.5 MW. This entails that these installations shall fulfill the sustainability criteria and greenhouse gas emission savings set out in REDII. The requirements will apply in the same way as they must apply to plants with a thermal input of 20 MW or more for solid biomass fuels and 2 MW or more for gaseous biomass fuels in accordance with the REDII.

Unlike REDII the Danish additional rules entails that the sustainability and greenhouse gas criteria apply for importers and manufacturers of wood pellets, if they import/produce equal to or above 20000 tons annually. The rules will also apply where companies uses biomass fuels produced from wood for industrial purposes, e.g. for space heating inside the company or for process purposes.

Furthermore, the rules contain two additional criteria that do not follow from the REDII. One aims to protect biodiversity and the other aims to prevent the use of unsustainable and climate-damaging biomasses.

With a phasing-in until 30 June 2023, the proposed rules will also apply to importers and producers of wood pellets, wood briquettes or firewood, if they import/produce at least 5000 tons annually. However, the rules will not apply if the importer/producer can document that a specified amount is not to be used for energy purposes. 

Finally, more restrictive greenhouse gas emission saving criteria will be set. The draft rules entails that where biomass fuels produced from wood are used also existing plants must fulfil the criteria and the savings must be at least 75 % up to and including 31 December 2024. From 1 January 2025, they must be at least 80 % and from 1 January 2028 at least 83 %.