The Renewables Obligation Order 2015 No. 1947

SCHEDULE 3 LAND CRITERIA

Interpretation

1.  In this Schedule—

“continuously forested area” means land of an area of more than one hectare which includes—

(a)

trees more than five metres tall providing a tree canopy cover of more than 30%, or

(b)

trees collectively having the capacity to provide a tree canopy cover of more than 30% which—

(i)

are more than five metres tall, or

(ii)

have the capacity to grow to a height of more than five metres;

“designated for nature protection purposes” means designated pursuant to the law of the United Kingdom or of any part of the United Kingdom or pursuant to the law of any country or territory outside the United Kingdom, for the purpose of protecting the natural environment;

“environmental quality assurance scheme” means a voluntary scheme which establishes environmental or social standards in relation to the production of woody biomass;

“exempt purpose” has the meaning given in paragraph 7;

“greenhouse gas emissions from the use of fossil fuel” has the same meaning as in Schedule 1;

“highly biodiverse grassland” is to be construed in accordance with Article 17(3)(c) of the Renewables Directive;

“lightly forested area” means land of an area of more than one hectare which includes—

(a)

trees more than five metres tall providing a tree canopy cover of between 10% and 30%, or

(b)

trees collectively having the capacity to provide a tree canopy cover of between 10% and 30% which—

(i)

are more than five metres tall, or

(ii)

have the capacity to grow to a height of more than five metres;

“primary forest” means woodland of native species, where there is no clearly visible indication of human activity and ecological processes are not significantly disturbed;

“protected source” has the meaning given in paragraph 5;

“relevant percentage” has the same meaning as in Schedule 1;

“relevant target” has the same meaning as in Part 1 of Schedule 2;

“sustainable source” has the meaning given in paragraph 6;

“wetland area” means land that is covered with or saturated by water—

(a)

permanently, or

(b)

for a significant part of the year; and

“woody biomass” means biomass which—

(a)

is, or is derived from, wood (other than an energy crop), and

(b)

is not a bioliquid.