The Government limits the aid to biomass to prioritize the industrial use of wood

As of October 27, 2026, there is no record in the consulted sources of a comprehensive bill or proposal for the transposition of Directive (EU) 2023/2413, known as RED III, that is in the amendment, committee, commission, or debate phase in the Senate. Spain is incorporating its provisions in blocks and through different regulations, so there is no single parliamentary processing phase that describes the entire process.

The most recent official reference

The most relevant information is the Government's response to written question 184/040299, published on September 28, 2026. In it, the Executive states that "a substantial part of RED III is already incorporated into the internal legal system through legal and regulatory norms adopted between 2000 and 2026."

This response, recorded in the Congress bulletin, evidences progress in the incorporation of the directive but does not announce the approval of a general transposition law nor declare the entire process completed. The publication of a parliamentary response does not equate to the approval of a norm: it is a government oversight action.

Which part has advanced outside Parliament

The Government expressly highlights Royal Decree 611/2026, of July 22, promoting the decarbonization of the transport sector and the promotion of renewable fuels, which modifies various royal decrees on the matter. This is a norm already approved and published, not a bill pending voting in the Cortes. It can be consulted in the Official State Gazette.

This block had antecedents of public participation: a prior consultation on partial transposition in transport and industry, dated July 24, 2024, and the public hearing of the renewable fuels royal decree project announced on July 3, 2025. The latter was explained in a Ecological Transition note. These are Executive procedures, distinct from the legislative process of the Congress and Senate.

What parliamentary actions are recorded

• Congress: question 184/040299, whose text was published on June 22, 2026, asked about the complete approval of RED III and its schedule. Its course ended with the publication of the government response on September 28.
• Senate: written question 684/021177 was admitted for processing on October 15, 2025. It requested information on contributions received in the prior consultation of partial transposition and their incorporation into the final text. It is another oversight initiative, not a transposition law; its purpose can be verified in the Senate initiative.

How to interpret the current status

The general European transposition deadline expired on May 21, 2025; certain provisions on authorizations had to be incorporated before July 1, 2024. These are European compliance deadlines, not Spanish parliamentary phases.

In conclusion, the precise description is transposition in blocks, with measures already approved and without a comprehensive law identified in parliamentary processing. To verify the scope of what has been incorporated, the Government itself refers to the notified national measures. It would not be correct to place all of RED III in committee or pending in the Senate, nor to consider that the approval of the transport block automatically closes the complete transposition.

The Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) proposes and executes the Government's energy policy: it prepares regulations, plans the energy transition, promotes renewables, and exercises state functions of authorization and control. Biomass is integrated into these competencies as a renewable source but also connects with the department's environmental, forestry, and circular economy responsibilities. These functions do not replace the competencies of autonomous communities nor those of the energy regulator.

1. Legal framework and energy competencies

The general attribution comes from article 13 of Royal Decree 829/2023, of November 20. Its development is mainly recorded in articles 1 to 4 of Royal Decree 503/2024, of May 21. Regarding energy, the Ministry is responsible for:

• Preparing state legislation and developing national energy policy, including its adaptation to European Union law.
• Planning and ensuring supply, guiding the system towards decarbonization, energy autonomy, and the economic sustainability of the electricity and gas systems.
• Regulating and analyzing markets, formulating proposals on remuneration of regulated activities, and exercising state functions over installations, registries, inspections, and sanctions.
• Promoting renewables, savings, and efficiency, storage, electrification, and sustainable fuels, as well as protecting vulnerable consumers and combating energy poverty.
• Coordinating energy action with other ministries, administrations, and international institutions.

2. Responsible bodies

The Secretary of State for Energy directs and coordinates these functions. Two general directorates with differentiated tasks depend on it:

• The General Directorate of Energy Policy and Mines prepares regulation on electricity, renewables, hydrocarbons, and new fuels; processes state authorizations; manages registries; and exercises administrative control. Its Subdirectorate General for Renewable Energies acts in renewables, cogeneration, and waste.
• The General Directorate of Energy Planning and Coordination develops strategic planning, monitors the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan, statistics, savings, efficiency, energy access, and nuclear competencies.

Additionally, the IDAE, attached through the Secretary of State, participates in promotion and dissemination actions. The Commissioner for Renewable Energies, Hydrogen, and Storage promotes and monitors projects and funds linked to the corresponding PERTE.

3. Specific application to biomass

Biomass does not constitute an isolated ministerial competency: its energy use is included in renewable policy. Depending on use and installation, MITECO's intervention covers:

• Electric and thermal generation: regulation and promotion of its use for electricity, heating, cooling, and cogeneration.
• Economic support: normative design of promotion mechanisms and aid programs, with conditions applicable to each call.
• Derived fuels: management of the certification system for production, consumption, and sale of renewable gases, biofuels, and new fuels.
• Sustainability: coordination of energy use with emission reduction, pollution prevention, sustainable forest management, and circular economy.

As a concrete example of promotion, the BOE published on March 5, 2026, a agreement between IDAE and AVEBIOM to disseminate the energy use of biomass in buildings.

4. Limits and territorial distribution

Not all biomass plants are authorized by the Ministry. According to official information on renewables, state competence includes, among other cases, peninsular generation installations over 50 MW electric and those that exceed an autonomous community. Environmental, forestry, industrial, or waste permits must be distinguished from energy authorization: they may correspond to other administrations. Likewise, the Ministry acts without infringing the CNMC's powers.

To access public aid for biomass energy in Spain, installations must demonstrate fuel sustainability, technical and environmental compliance, and the conditions of the call. There is no single list applicable to all projects: requirements vary depending on whether they produce heat, electricity, or cogeneration, their power, and the financing program. As of October 27, 2026, the applicable regulations must also be distinguished from the changes announced that day.

1. Sustainability and emission reduction

The origin and traceability of biomass must be justified and, when required, compliance with sustainability criteria and greenhouse gas emission savings. That a fuel is biomass alone is not enough to obtain financing.

The bases may impose additional requirements. For example, Order TED/764/2024, from the CE Implementa program for energy communities, requires a reduction of emissions of at least 80% and compliance with the sustainability criteria of articles 29 to 31 of Directive (EU) 2018/2001. This percentage should not be automatically transferred to any aid.

2. Equipment, fuel, and atmospheric emissions

In that program, non-industrial applications with local heating devices or boilers under 1 MW must meet specific conditions:

• Manufacturer accreditation of seasonal energy efficiency and emissions, with requirements not lower than the corresponding European ecodesign regulations.
• Fuel certified by an independent accredited entity according to the quality classes provided. Certificates, delivery notes, or invoices must be kept for five years.
• Firewood must meet class M20; these actions are not subsidized in municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants nor in provincial capitals.
• Preventive maintenance and energy management according to the instructions of the Thermal Installations in Buildings Regulation. Local heating devices must have a closed front.

Also, the bases require that combustion installations of 1 MW or more and less than 50 MW comply with the applicable limit values of Royal Decree 1042/2017 and the remaining corresponding national legislation.

3. Permits and environmental protection

The installation must have the urban, environmental, industrial, and energy authorizations that correspond, at the time required by the call. When using waste, it must also comply with applicable management and recovery obligations. The subsidy does not replace these permits.

Projects financed by the Recovery Plan must respect the DNSH principle, that is, not cause significant harm to the environment. As a specific example, the 2026 aid for heat and cold networks require exclusively renewable supply, energy and environmental monitoring, and compliance with the RITE when applicable.

4. Beneficiary, execution, and justification

The applicant must comply with the General Subsidies Law: be up to date with the Treasury and Social Security, not incur prohibitions, and fulfill reimbursement obligations. They must respect eligible expenses, deadlines, contracting rules, and compatibility, justify investment and payments, and attend to required controls and publicity.

Conditions vary: Order TED/707/2022 requires maintaining and operating the action for at least five years; Order TED/641/2023 establishes incompatibility with other aids for the same purpose.

5. Announced changes, not to be confused with current obligations

According to Demócrata, the decree announced for October 27 plans to prioritize material uses of wood, restrict certain fuels and aid to electricity-only plants, and reduce the sustainability threshold from 20 to 7.5 thermal MW. Its application and exceptions must be determined according to the text published in the BOE, not solely the announcement.