From Rocky I to RED III – the problem with sequels

The EU’s management of renewable energy planning and development has become a bit like the Hollywood film industry’s obsession with sequels. While in Hollywood we have had to cope with the unveiling of Rocky I to Rocky V, plus a few other sequels by different names, Europe’s biofuels producers are gearing up for the imminent unveiling of Renewable Energy Directive (RED III), a potentially dubious sequel to Red I and RED II. The EU’s RED ‘franchise’ was first launched in 2009, being seen at the time as the template for a fresh and enduring approach to the creation of a European policy structure that would empower the development of renewable energy in a way that would give investors the confidence to invest and producers the confidence to produce. Today, as we approach the launch of the third RED sequel at the end of June, we seem to be locked into a revolving format, offering producers and investors no better than...