The Committee on Energy, Housing and Utilities Services considered three draft laws, which will have an impact on the bioenergy sector!
Exciting news for Ukraine’s bioenergy sector! The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy, Housing, and Utilities Services has recently approved three draft laws aimed at strengthening and supporting the use of bioenergy in the country.
1. Draft Law No. 3356-d, which proposes introducing a mandatory share of liquid biofuels (biocomponents) in the volume of motor gasoline, promotes sustainability and reduces carbon emissions in the transport sector.
The draft law provides for the introduction of a mandatory share of the content of liquid biofuel (biocomponents) in the volume of automobile gasoline, as well as the implementation of sustainability criteria for liquid biofuel (biocomponents) and biogas intended for use in the field of transport.
In particular, it is proposed to introduce a requirement for a mandatory share of liquid biofuel (biocomponents) in the volume of automobile gasoline consumed in Ukraine, not less than 5% (by volume), while such biofuel must meet sustainability criteria.
The situation in Ukraine
There are 22 small bioethanol plants in Ukraine, which in total can produce about 500 million liters of biofuel per year. Of them, 7 are new private factories, the rest are reconstructed old state factories.
Even before the beginning of the full-scale invasion of russia, only a few bioethanol plants were stably functioning at full capacity in the country, there is no information about the current state of production.
What will this law do?
Adoption of the draft law on the mandatory addition of biocomponents to gasoline on the domestic market will bring Ukraine closer to EU standards, give impetus to the production of advanced bioethanol and promote the country’s progress on the path of green transformation.
21 members of the Committee supported the decision. The draft law is recommended for the second reading.
2. European Integration Draft Law No. 9597 plans to create a register of installations using biomass fuels, biofuels, and gaseous fuels, exempting them from paying carbon dioxide emissions tax.
This draft law is aimed at creating a register of installations that use biofuel (including biogas, biomethane), with the aim of exempting them from paying the tax on carbon dioxide emissions.
The State Tax Service and the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine are insisting on the creation of the specified register for the purpose of administering the procedure for establishing a zero hryvnia environmental tax rate for carbon dioxide emissions.
What will this law do?
Результат перекладу
The adoption of the draft law will lead to the creation of a special register, which will include installations using solid, liquid and gas fuel as a single type of fuel. Installations that will have an account in the registry will not pay a tax on carbon dioxide emissions.
20 members of the Committee supported the decision. The draft law is recommended for the first reading.
3. Draft Law No. 9596 suggests establishing a zero-hryvnia environmental tax rate on carbon dioxide emissions for installations using biomass fuels, biofuels, and gaseous fuels.
This long-awaited draft law provides for the abolition of the specified tax for entities using biofuel.
The State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine, which, according to the draft law, is the holder of the register, will submit to the tax authorities information on the installations included in the register every month, in order to exempt them from tax.
If adopted, the law will enter into force on January 1, 2025.
In October 2023, the Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy of Ukrainian Parliament already issued a positive opinion and recommended that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopt this draft law in the first reading. Today it was approved and recommended for the first reading by the Energy Committee — 17 members of the it supported the decision.
These draft laws, if implemented, could significantly enhance Ukraine’s renewable energy sector and contribute to its environmental goals. This is a significant step forward in the right direction for a greener and more sustainable future.
We would like to thank members of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy, Housing, and Utilities Services Andrii Herus, Andrii Zhupanyn, Yurii Kamelchuk, as well as the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine for facilitating consideration of draft laws important for the sector.
You can watch the broadcast of the meeting on April 22 using the link (in Ukrainian):
