Germany's Federal Bioenergy Association (BBE) is offering training on new sustainability certification requirements that will apply to solid biomass power plants with a total thermal input of between 7.5 and 20 MW under a revised national ordinance implementing the EU's Renewable Energy Directive (RED III).
The updated Biomass Electricity Sustainability Ordinance (BioSt-NachV) extends the obligation to demonstrate sustainability across the entire supply chain to a wider group of biomass plants. Operators that fail to obtain certification risk losing eligibility for payments under Germany's Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG).
A cabinet decision on the ordinance is scheduled for 28 October 2026, with the regulation taking effect the day after its publication in the Federal Law Gazette. Compliance will be required from that date, although a transitional period is available for operators that can demonstrate insufficient availability of certification bodies was the sole reason for non-compliance.
The BBE, which serves as an official national supporting body for the SURE certification system, is running the training sessions jointly with consultancy Biomass Advisors. The programme covers both the legal background to RED III and its national transposition, and the practical requirements of SURE certification.
The training is aimed at operators and suppliers of plants in the 7.5 to 20 MW range, as well as existing SURE system participants across the supply chain. Sessions are offered quarterly, with the next scheduled for 24 November 2026 and a further date planned for the first quarter of 2027.
