Last December, the European Commission (EC) released new criteria for calculating the amount of renewable cooling and district cooling that can be used to meet the EU's renewable energy targets.
This delegated act defines how cooling can count against an EU member state's overall renewables target and how it contributes to the Renewable Energy Directive’s sectoral targets on heating and cooling.
According to a statement from the European Commission, despite being covered by the Renewable Energy Directive since 2009, the renewable cooling contribution to renewable could not actually be calculated in practice. The new calculation methodology will thus fill a gap in current legislation. The EC added that the European approach will be the “the first such calculation method introduced anywhere in the world.”
