A carbon bomb in the heart of Europe
8 septembre 2022
Will the EU biomass loophole give a lifeline to energy giant EPH’s coal power plants?
“A carbon bomb in the heart of Europe” investigates the rapidly growing Czech energy company EPH’s exploitation of loopholes in the European Union’s (EU) Renewable Energy Directive. The loopholes allow Member States to offer subsidies to extend the life of power stations. EPH is using such subsidies to burn biomass from forests, thereby dangerously delaying the energy sector’s decarbonisation.
The briefing estimates that, in 2022 alone, this “transition scavenger” company and its subsidiaries are likely to burn about 4.2 million tonnes of wood in their biomass and coal power plants leading to a “carbon bomb” of 6.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide released into the air. In return, they deliver little in terms of energy - 4.5 GWh – representing just over 5 per cent of the electricity Czechia consumed in 2015.
See also the Czech translation of the briefing note co-published with Re-set - our partner in Czechia.
Catégories: Briefing Notes, Bioenergy