Wood pellet burning in large power stations is only possible because of generous renewable energy subsidies under the Dutch SDE++ programme. In order to qualify for those subsidies, the wood is supposed to meet a set of SDE++ sustainability and greenhouse gas criteria. Since late 2019, all pellets certified by the Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) have been deemed to automatically meet those criteria.
In this briefing, we investigate whether the Dutch authorities’ decision to deem all SBP-certified wood pellets to meet national sustainability and greenhouse gas standards is justified. Our findings show that this is not the case, i.e., that the SBP does not provide credible auditing of supply chains or verification of claims made by pellet producers and that its interpretation of criteria is at odds with what is required under by the SDE++ scheme.
Read More (PDF)Organization: Biofuelwatch