The assumptions of the new taxonomy show that natural gas may become a transformative fuel, but emission limitations in practice will preclude its use, among others, in cogeneration. In order for an investment to be considered sustainable, i.e. one that can receive EU funding and credits, its emissivity must not exceed 100 g / kWh. In practice, such a threshold excludes investing in gas sources, because even the most modern units emit more than 300 g / kWh.
As stressed by James Watson, secretary general of the Eurogas gas industry association, combined cycle gas power plants currently have an emission weight in the range of 350-300 g, which means that investors in countries like ours may not be able to treat investment in CCGT as a transitional activity.
According to the draft regulations, fuels emitting less than 262g / kWh would not be considered to cause “significant harm” to the EU’s climate targets, opening the door to gas labeling as such.