S.I. No. 664/2025 - European Union (Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation) Regulations 2025
Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in | ||
“Iris Oifigiúil” of 2nd January, 2026. | ||
I, DARRAGH O’BRIEN, Minister for Transport, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving further effect to Articles 25, 26 and 27 of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 20181 as amended by Directive (EU) 2023/2413 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 20232 , hereby make the following regulations: | ||
1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Union (Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation) Regulations 2025. | ||
2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of January 2026. | ||
3. The National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007 (No. 7 of 2007) is amended – | ||
(a) in section 44A – | ||
(i) by the substitution, in the definition of “Directive”, of “Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, as amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/7593 , Directive (EU) 2023/24134 , Directive (EU) 2024/14055 and Directive (EU) 2024/17116 ” for “Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources.”, | ||
(ii) by the insertion, after the definition of “petroleum products”, of the following definitions: | ||
“ ‘recharging point’ and ‘recharging station’ have the same meanings, respectively, as they have in Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 September 20237 on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure;”, | ||
(iii) by the insertion, after the definition of “Renewable Energy Regulations”, of the following definition: | ||
“ ‘renewable fuels of non-biological origin’ means liquid and gaseous fuels used in the transport sector, the energy content of which is derived from renewable sources other than biomass.”, | ||
(iv) by the deletion of the definition of “renewable liquid and gaseous transport fuels of non-biological origin”, and | ||
(v) by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “renewable transport fuel”: | ||
“ ‘renewable transport fuel’ means liquid or gaseous fuel (including biofuels, biogas, recycled carbon fuels, advanced biofuels and renewable fuels of non-biological origin) used in the transport sector.”, | ||
(b) in section 44C – | ||
(i) in subsection (3), by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a): | ||
“(a) advanced biofuels and biogas and renewable fuels of non-biological origin that, in total, amount to no less than the applicable percentage, specified in section 44D, of the total relevant disposal of road transport fuel concerned (in this Part referred to as the ‘advanced biofuel and renewable fuels of non-biological origin obligation’)”, and | ||
(ii) by the insertion of the following new subsection [after subsection (3)]: | ||
“(3A) Renewable fuels of non-biological origin that are used as intermediate products for the production of conventional transport fuels and for the production of biofuels may be considered to be renewable liquid and gaseous transport fuels of non-biological origin for the purpose of subsection (3)(a), provided that the greenhouse gas emissions reduction achieved by the use of renewable fuels of non-biological origin is not counted in the calculation, set out in Schedule 3 of the Renewable Energy Regulations, of the greenhouse gas emission savings of the biofuels.”, | ||
(c) by the substitution of the following section for section 44D: | ||
“Rate of renewable transport fuel obligation, advanced biofuel and renewable fuels of non-biological origin obligation, crop cap and high ILUC-risk biofuel | ||
44D. The percentage rate that applies for the obligation period beginning on 1 January 2026 and ending on 31 December 2026 shall – | ||
(a) in respect of the renewable transport fuel obligation, be 32 per cent, | ||
(b) in respect of the advanced biofuel and renewable fuels of non-biological origin obligation, be 5 per cent, | ||
(c) in respect of the crop cap, be 3 per cent, and | ||
(d) in respect of the high ILUC-risk cap, be 60 per cent of the total certified disposal of biofuels and biogas produced from high ILUC-risk feedstock that were, during the period beginning on 1 January 2019 and ending on 31 December 2019, supplied by a renewable transport fuel obligation account holder.”, | ||
(d) in section 44G, by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1A) – | ||
“(1AA) The Agency shall, on application to it by a renewable transport fuel obligation account holder, subject to compliance with this section and any regulations made under it, in respect of each megajoule of renewable electricity supplied at publicly accessible recharging stations in the State by the renewable transport fuel account holder who is the operator of the recharging point, issue 4 certificates to that account holder, | ||
(e) in section 44I – | ||
(i) in subsection (1) – | ||
(I) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “advanced biofuel and renewable fuels of non-biological origin obligation” for “advanced biofuel obligation”, and | ||
(II) in paragraph (c), by the substitution of “advanced biofuel and renewable fuels of non-biological origin obligation” for “advanced biofuel obligation”, and | ||
(ii) in subsection (6), in paragraph (e) by the substitution of “advanced biofuel and renewable fuels of non-biological origin obligation” for “advanced biofuel obligation”, | ||
(f) in section 44J – | ||
(i) in subsection (1), by the substitution of “renewable transport fuel obligation or advanced biofuel and renewable fuels of non-biological origin obligation” for “renewable transport fuel obligation” in each place it occurs, | ||
(ii) in subsection (2) – | ||
(I) in paragraph (a), by the substitution of “renewable transport fuel obligation or advanced biofuel and-renewable fuels of non-biological origin obligation” for “renewable transport fuel obligation”, and | ||
(II) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b): | ||
“(b) the amount of the buy-out charge in respect of the amount of the renewable transport fuel obligation or advanced biofuel and renewable fuels of non-biological origin obligation which remains undischarged,”, and | ||
(iii) in paragraph (5) – | ||
(I) in subparagraph (a)(iii), by the substitution of “advanced biofuel and renewable fuels of non-biological origin obligation” for “advanced biofuel obligation”, and | ||
(II) in subparagraph (d), by the substitution of “advanced biofuel and renewable fuels of non-biological origin obligation” for “advanced biofuel obligation”, and | ||
(g) in section 44K, in subsection (6), by the substitution of “the renewable transport fuel obligation or advanced biofuel and renewable fuels of non-biological origin obligation, as may be the case, notified” for “the renewable transport fuel obligation notified”. | ||
4. The National Oil Reserves Agency (Advanced Biofuel Obligation Buy - Out Charge) Regulations 2023 ( S.I. No. 44 of 2023 ) are amended by the substitution of “advanced biofuel and renewable fuels of non-biological origin obligation” for “advanced biofuel obligation” in each place that it occurs. | ||
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GIVEN under my Official Seal, | ||
22 December, 2025. | ||
DARRAGH O’BRIEN, | ||
Minister for Transport. | ||
