EU stops short of gas boiler ban
The European Commission today stopped short of banning gas boilers from 2030 in an update to the bloc's energy performance directive for buildings.
But the amended directive states that member states should only be allowed to subsidise new "fossil fuel" boilers until the end of 2026.
"We don't have the competence," commission vice-president Frans Timmermans said, referring to the possibility of an EU-level ban. "Circumstances are different between member states", he said. Timmermans oversees legislative work implementing the EU's targeted 55pc cut in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030, compared with 1990 levels.
By increasing renovation rates and requiring new buildings from 2030 to install zero-emission heating systems, the revised directive aims to help member states reach a 49pc renewables share by 2030, set in the revised renewables directive.
The commission indicates that the buildings proposal will push up renovation rates, thereby supporting replacement of inefficient fossil fuel boilers by systems with no direct GHG emissions, such as heat pumps and other renewable technologies. The 15pc of buildings with the EU's lowest energy performance standards would have to be upgraded, with a deadline of 2027 for non-residential buildings and 2030 for residential buildings.
The commission's proposal, if adopted by EU member states and the European Parliament, would require new buildings to create no carbon emissions on site from 2030, with an earlier deadline of 2027 for new public buildings.
The revised buildings directive does not mandate an EU-level phase-out date for fossil fuel boilers, but it does introduce a legal basis for national bans. The provisions attempt to address legal uncertainty as to whether fossil fuel boiler bans would be permitted under EU competition rules and law. Member states could now set requirements for heating equipment based on GHG emissions or the type of fuel used, the commission said.
The revised directive would also require member states to draw up national building plans that include roadmaps for "phasing out fossil fuels in heating and cooling by 2040 at the latest". And EU states would need to come up with a "pathway" to transform national building stocks into zero-emission buildings by 2050.
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High inventories pressure Brazil biodiesel prices
High inventories pressure Brazil biodiesel prices
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Lyondell Houston refinery to run at 95pc in 2Q
Lyondell Houston refinery to run at 95pc in 2Q
Houston, 26 April (Argus) — LyondellBasell plans to run its 264,000 b/d Houston, Texas, refinery at average utilization rates of 95pc in the second quarter and may convert its hydrotreaters to petrochemical production when the plant shuts down in early 2025. The company's sole crude refinery ran at an average 79pc utilization rate in the first quarter due to planned maintenance on a coking unit , the company said in earnings released today . "We are evaluating options for the potential reuse of the hydrotreaters at our Houston refinery to purify recycled and renewable cracker feedstocks," chief executive Peter Vanacker said on a conference call today discussing earnings. Lyondell said last year a conversion would feed the company's two 930,000 metric tonnes (t)/yr steam crackers at its Channelview petrochemicals complex. The company today said it plans to make a final investment decision on the conversion in 2025. Hydrotreater conversions — such as one Chevron completed last year at its 269,000 b/d El Segundo, California, refinery — allow the unit to produce renewable diesel, which creates renewable naphtha as a byproduct. Renewable naphtha can be used as a gasoline blending component, steam cracker feed or feed for hydrogen producing units, according to engineering firm Topsoe. Lyondell last year said the Houston refinery will continue to run until early 2025, delaying a previously announced plan to stop crude processing by the end of 2023. By Nathan Risser Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Azerbaijan wants certainty from EU on gas needs
Azerbaijan wants certainty from EU on gas needs
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US M&A deals dip after record 1Q: Enverus
US M&A deals dip after record 1Q: Enverus
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