RED III: what it changes for biogas and biomethane – analysis and the state of implementation in Poland

RED III, that is Directive (EU) 2023/2413 of 18 October 2023, amends Directive 2018/2001 and raises the EU target for the share of energy from renewable sources to at least 42.5% in 2030, with the possibility of reaching 45%. For biogas and biomethane three elements matter most: tightened and extended sustainability criteria (Article 29), an EU database tracking renewable fuels (Article 31a) and the acceleration of permitting procedures. The entry describes the position as of 24 November 2025.

Targets and deadlines

The directive entered into force on 20 November 2023. Member States were to implement it by 21 May 2025 (for some provisions the deadline was different). Alongside the general target for 2030, sectoral targets were introduced: in transport either a 29% share of renewables or a 14.5% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions intensity, plus a combined target for advanced biofuels and RFNBO fuels (5.5%, including at least 1% RFNBO); in heating and cooling and in industry – growth paths for the share of renewables. Biomethane supports the achievement of targets in transport, heating and industry, provided it meets the criteria.

Sustainability criteria: what has changed

In addition the land criteria were adjusted (including the introduction of the concept of old-growth forests and an extension of protection to heathland). What is key is the distinction between the 2 MW capacity for gas combustion and the 200 m³/h threshold for biomethane production: a biomethane plant selling gas to the grid may therefore require certification even if it does not burn it in a large unit.

The EU database and the mass balance

Article 31a requires the Commission to launch, by 21 November 2024, a database enabling liquid and gaseous renewable fuels and recycled carbon fuels to be tracked. Member States are to require entities to enter data on transactions and sustainability characteristics, including GHG emissions. For the purposes of the database the EU gas grid is a single mass balance system, and guarantees of origin for gas are to be transferred to the database and cancelled after gas is withdrawn. Member States may use national databases connected to the EU database. According to the Commission, the database has been launched, and discussions took place on the date of full mandatory application.

Speeding up procedures

RED III introduces renewables acceleration areas, shortened deadlines for issuing permits (up to 12 months in acceleration areas and up to two years outside them) and a presumption of overriding public interest for renewable projects. For biogas plants this means potentially shorter procedures, provided national provisions implement them and cover biogas.

State of implementation in Poland (November 2025)

The transposition deadline passed on 21 May 2025, and full implementation into Polish law was not completed in November 2025 – legislative work on an amendment to the Act on Renewable Energy Sources and related provisions was ongoing. Some provisions connected with the RED II directive (in its 2022 wording) were introduced by the Act of 21 February 2025 amending the Act on Biocomponents and Liquid Biofuels: accreditation of certification bodies, provisions on the mass balance and an obligation to pass data to the EU database, and in the Act on Renewable Energy Sources – the criteria for gaseous biomass fuels in installations commissioned after 31 December 2023 with a capacity from 2 MW. Investors planning a biomethane plant should assume adaptation to the RED III criteria and strict keeping of consignment documentation.

What this means for the investor

1. Plan the GHG emission reduction with a margin against the 80% threshold in new installations.
2. Ensure certification irrespective of how the gas is burned or sold.
3. Prepare the data infrastructure: measurements, records of substrates, mass balance.
4. Follow national drafts: deadlines, transitional periods and definitions of installations.

Agricultural biogas plants and the new thresholds

The raising of requirements does not affect all biogas plants equally. Installations burning biogas in cogeneration with a thermal capacity below 2 MW remain outside the scope of the criteria, unless the Member State extends them to smaller facilities. What changes, however, is the situation of biomethane plants: the threshold of 200 m³/h of methane corresponds approximately to 1.75 million m³ of methane per year when operating all year round (200 × 8760 h), so typical installations injecting gas into the grid will be covered by the criteria. For owners of small agricultural installations, what is key is therefore not so much the directive itself as whether Poland makes use of the option of covering smaller sources and what transitional periods it introduces.

This text is for information only and does not constitute legal advice; before an investment or formal decision, check the current wording of the legislation and consult a lawyer or the relevant authority.