Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2402 of 12 October 2015 reviewing harmonised efficiency reference values for separate production of electricity and heat in application of Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Commission Implementing Decision 2011/877/EU

Type Delegated Regulation
Publication 2015-10-12
State In force
Department European Commission
Source EUR-Lex
Reform history JSON API

Article 1

Establishment of the harmonised efficiency reference values

The harmonised efficiency reference values for separate production of electricity and heat shall be those set out in Annexes I and II respectively.

Article 2

Correction factors for the harmonised efficiency reference values for separate production of electricity

If on the territory of a Member State official meteorological data show differences in the annual ambient temperature of 5 °C or more, that Member State may, subject to notification to the Commission, use several climate zones for the purpose of the first subparagraph using the method set out in Annex III.

Article 3

Application of the harmonised efficiency reference values for the separate production of electricity

Article 4

Application of the harmonised efficiency reference values for the separate production of heat

Article 5

Retrofitting of a cogeneration unit

If the investment cost relating to the retrofitting of a cogeneration unit exceeds 50 % of the investment cost for a new comparable cogeneration unit, the calendar year during which the retrofitted cogeneration unit first produces electricity shall be considered as the year of construction of the retrofitted cogeneration unit for the purpose of Articles 3 and 4.

Article 6

Fuel mix

If the cogeneration unit is operated with more than one kind of fuel, the harmonised efficiency reference values for separate production shall be applied proportionally to the weighted mean of the energy input of the various fuels.

Article 7

Repeal

Decision 2011/877/EU is repealed.

Article 8

Entry into force and application

This Regulation shall enter into force on the first day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall apply from 1 January 2016.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

ANNEX I

In the following table, the harmonised efficiency (%) reference values for separate production of electricity are based on net calorific value and standard atmospheric ISO conditions (15 °C ambient temperature, 1,013 bar, 60 % relative humidity):

Category Energy source Year of construction
Before 2016 2016–2023 From 2024
Solids S1 Hard coal including anthracite, bituminous coal, sub-bituminous coal, coke, semi-coke, pet coke 44,2 44,2 53,0
S2 Lignite, lignite briquettes, oil shale 41,8 41,8 53,0
S3 Peat, peat briquettes 39,0 39,0 53,0
S4 Dry biomass including wood and other solid biomass including wood pellets and briquettes, dried woodchips, clean and dry waste wood, nut shells and olive and other stones 33,0 37,0 37,0
S5 Other solid biomass including all wood not included under S4 and black and brown liquor. 25,0 30,0 30,0
S6 Municipal and industrial waste (non-renewable, of non-biological origin such as plastics, rubber and other synthetic materials) and renewable/bio-degradable waste 25,0 25,0 25,0
Liquids L7 Heavy fuel oil, gas/diesel oil, other oil products 44,2 44,2 53,0
L8 Bio-liquids including bio-methanol, bioethanol, bio-butanol, biodiesel, other biofuels and all e-liquids 44,2 44,2 44,2
L9 Waste liquids including biodegradable and non-renewable waste (including tallow, fat and spent grain). 25,0 29,0 29,0
Gaseous G10 Natural gas, LPG, LNG and biomethane 52,5 53,0 53,0
G11A Traded hydrogen (1) 44,2 44,2 53,0
G11B Refinery gases, synthesis gas, hydrogen (by-product), e-gases (2) 44,2 44,2 44,2
G12 Biogas produced from anaerobic digestion, landfill, and sewage treatment 42,0 42,0 42,0
G13 Coke oven gas, blast furnace gas, mining gas, and other recovered gases (excluding refinery gas) 35,0 35,0 35,0
Other O14A Waste heat, including process exhaust gases, product from exothermic chemical reactions (input temperature > 200 °C) 30,0 30,0
O14B Waste heat, including process exhaust gases, product from exothermic chemical reactions (input temperature < 200 °C) 30,0 20,0
O15 Nuclear 33,0 33,0
O16 Solar thermal 30,0 30,0
O17 Geothermal 19,5 19,5
O18 Other fuels not mentioned above 30,0 30,0
(1) Hydrogen sold from its supplier to a cogeneration unit operator. (2) E-gases are understood as gaseous synthetic fuel originating from renewable hydrogen and carbon dioxide captured either from a concentrated source, such as flue gases from an industrial site, or from the air.

ANNEX II

In the following table the harmonised efficiency (%) reference values for separate production of heat are based on net calorific value and standard atmospheric ISO conditions (15 °C ambient temperature, 1,013 bar, 60 % relative humidity):

Category Energy source Year of construction
Before 2016 2016–2023 From 2024
Hot water Steam (1) Direct use of exhaust gases (2) Hot water Steam (1) Direct use of exhaust gases (2) Hot water Steam (1) Direct use of exhaust gases (2)
Solids S1 Hard coal including anthracite, bituminous coal, sub-bituminous coal, coke, semi-coke, pet coke 88 83 80 88 83 80 92 87 84
S2 Lignite, lignite briquettes, oil shale 86 81 78 86 81 78 92 87 84
S3 Peat, peat briquettes 86 81 78 86 81 78 92 87 84
S4 Dry biomass including wood and other solid biomass including wood pellets and briquettes, dried woodchips, clean and dry waste wood, nut shells and olive and other stones 86 81 78 86 81 78 86 81 78
S5 Other solid biomass including all wood not included under S4 and black and brown liquor. 80 75 72 80 75 72 80 75 72
S6 Municipal and industrial waste (non-renewable, of non-biological origin such as plastics, rubber and other synthetic materials) and renewable/bio-degradable waste 80 75 72 80 75 72 80 75 72
Liquids L7 Heavy fuel oil, gas/diesel oil, other oil products 89 84 81 85 80 77 92 87 84
L8 Bio-liquids including bio-methanol, bioethanol, bio-butanol, biodiesel, other biofuels and all e-liquids 89 84 81 85 80 77 85 80 77
L9 Waste liquids including biodegradable and non-renewable waste (including tallow, fat and spent grain). 80 75 72 75 70 67 75 70 67
Gaseous G10 Natural gas, LPG, LNG and biomethane 90 85 82 92 87 84 92 87 84
G11A Traded hydrogen 89 84 81 90 85 82 92 87 84
G11B Refinery gases, synthesis gas, hydrogen (by-product), e-gases 89 84 81 90 85 82 90 85 82
G12 Biogas produced from anaerobic digestion, landfill, and sewage treatment 70 65 62 80 75 72 80 75 72
G13 Coke oven gas, blast furnace gas, mining gas, and other recovered gases (excluding refinery gas) 80 75 72 80 75 72 80 75 72
Other O14A Waste heat, including process exhaust gases, product from exothermic chemical reactions (input temperature > 200 °C) 92 87 92 87
O14B Waste heat, including process exhaust gases, product from exothermic chemical reactions (input temperature < 200 °C) 92 87 92 87
O15 Nuclear 92 87 92 87
O16 Solar thermal 92 87 92 87
O17 Geothermal 92 87 92 87
O18 Other fuels not mentioned above 92 87 92 87
(1) Where steam plants do not account for the condensate return in their calculation of CHP heat efficiencies, the steam efficiencies set out in the table should be increased by 5 percentage points. (2) Values for direct heat should be used where the temperature reaches 250 °C or higher.

ANNEX III

Correction factors relating to the average climatic situation and method for establishing climate zones for the application of the harmonised efficiency reference values for separate production of electricity

(referred to in Article 2(1))

(a) Correction factors relating to the average climatic situation

Ambient temperature correction is based on the difference between the annual average temperature in a Member State and standard atmospheric ISO conditions (15 °C).

The correction will be as follows:

Example:

When the average annual temperature in a Member State is 10 °C, the reference value of a cogeneration unit in that Member State has to be increased by 0,5 %-points.

(b) Ambient temperature correction applies only to gaseous fuels (G10, G11, G12, G13).

(c) The borders of each climate zone will be constituted by isotherms (in full degrees Celsius) of the annual average ambient temperature which differ at least 4 °C. The temperature difference between the average annual ambient temperatures applied in adjacent climate zones will be at least 4 °C. Example: If, for example, for a given Member State the average annual ambient temperature is 12 °C in a certain location and 6 °C in a different location within the Member State, then the Member State has the option to introduce two climate zones, separated by an isotherm of 9 °C: A first climate zone between the isotherms of 9 °C and 13 °C (4 °C difference) with an average annual ambient temperature of 11 °C, and A second climate zone between the isotherms of 5 °C and 9 °C with an average annual ambient temperature of 7 °C.

ANNEX IV

Connection voltage level Correction factor (Off-site) Correction factor (On-site)
≥ 345 kV 1 0,976
≥ 200 – < 345 kV 0,972 0,963
≥ 100 – < 200 kV 0,963 0,951
≥ 50 – < 100 kV 0,952 0,936
≥ 12 – < 50 kV 0,935 0,914
≥ 0,45 – < 12kV 0,918 0,891
< 0,45 kV 0,888 0,851

Example:

A 100 kWel cogeneration unit with a reciprocating engine driven with natural gas generates electricity at 380 V. Of this, 85 % is used for own consumption and 15 % is fed into the grid. The plant was constructed in 2020. The annual ambient temperature is 15 °C (so no climatic correction is necessary).

After the grid loss correction the resulting efficiency reference value for the separate production of electricity in this cogeneration unit would be, on the basis of the weighted mean of the factors in this Annex:

Ref Εη = 53 % × (0,851 × 85 % + 0,888 × 15 %) = 45,4 %

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