D6.11 Report on regulations & standards for wide replication along EU

The present deliverable is the basis for an overview about the European legislation and standardization. This report analyses existing regulations and standards impacting the wide replication of innovative district heating and cooling (DHC) technologies across the European Union (EU). The report highlights recent revisions to the EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) and Renewable Energy Directive (RED), both of which strengthen the role of renewable energy sources (RES) and waste heat recovery in DHC systems. Also biomass has been considered in the RED analysis as potential renewable energy sources applicable for RESTORE project. Key takeaways include:• Increased EU targets for energy efficiency and RES use.• New definition of efficient DHC that considers both RES and waste heat.• Recognition of waste heat as a renewable energy source throughout the EED.• Binding targets for the share of renewables in heating and cooling, with a specific focus on increasing RES in DHC networks.• Measures to accelerate the deployment of RES and waste heat for heating and cooling. The report examines the EU Taxonomy, a classification system that defines environmentally sustainable economic activities and also includes an overview about the European legislation, the main barriers and solutions to overcome them.