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Date Published: 13/02/2023

ARCHIVED - EU sides with France over Spain and opens the way for nuclear-produced hydrogen

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Spain and several other countries requested that the EU targets focus on renewable sources like wind and solar

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - EU sides with France over Spain and opens the way for nuclear-produced hydrogen

France has scored another victory over Spain in the energy field as the European Commission has voted in favour of including low-carbon hydrogen produced with nuclear power in its renewable energy targets. Spain and a number of other countries had appealed to the EC to only consider electricity generated by wind, photovoltaic and other green energy as hydrogen of renewable origin but Brussels came down on the side of France on Monday February 13.

Hydrogen is essentially classed for its production of energy from renewable sources and is a non-fossil replacement for gas. For months leading up to the decision, French president Emmanuel Macron has been referring to “clean energy” and “low emissions” rather than “renewables” in a bid to get nuclear energy included.

As Europe uses more and more hydrogen as an alternative energy source, there is a real danger that renewable electricity designed for other purposes will be used up in the process. The long-awaited ruling by the EU aims to ensure that green hydrogen only uses “additional” sources of renewable power.

And this is where nuclear-friendly France has really won the coup, since Europe has set out three types of hydrogen that can be counted towards a country’s renewable energy targets. One of these is the ability of regions that meet a low CO2 emissions limit, which includes nuclear power, to take energy from the grid.

The battle between France and other nations over nuclear-based hydrogen has already delayed the publication of the EU’s new targets by several months, and Spain now has a two-month window to lodge its objections to the rules.

“Something that may not be renewable is named as renewable. In my opinion, it is a mistake,” Spanish councillor and energy legislator Nicolás González Casares said on hearing the news.

“Low carbon H2 should be encouraged as well, but labeling it as renewable is a hoax, which will undermine society’s confidence in the energy transition. Furthermore, it weakens the tools to create the market for renewable hydrogen,” he added.

The Commission assured in a statement that “they will provide regulatory certainty to investors” to achieve the EU objective of producing 10 million tonnes of domestic renewable hydrogen by 2030 and importing a further 10 million tonnes.

See also: WATCH Spanish rescue workers pull survivors from the rubble in Turkey and Syria

Image: Wikimedia Commons

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