Government approved the draft GEO to extend the validity of green certificates until 2032

Government approved, at the proposal of the Ministry of Energy, the Emergency Ordinance amending and supplementing Law 220/2008 to improve the legislation in the field of energy production from renewable sources and to support the development of this sector.

According to European rules and commitments, Romania has established for 2020 a national target of 24% renewable energy in the final gross electricity consumption, target which it has already reached, but which has to be preserved in the perspective of the reference year, the Ministry of Energy announced.

“Today’s legislation prepares and regulates inclusively the moment of reinserting in the market the green certificates delayed from trading by decisions made in 2014, period which expires at the end of March”, Energy Minister Toma Petcu said.

The Minister also highlights that changes brought, including the elimination of the validity of only one year for green certificates, are for the benefit of energy production from renewable sources and to the benefit of end-consumers.

“Basically, according to the new GEO, they will be valid throughout the validity of the support scheme, i.e. until 2032. In this way, we will avoid situations recorded in the recent years, when an important number of green certificates couldn’t be sold by producers”, the Ministry of Energy shows.

Moreover, the mandatory acquisition quota for electricity suppliers will be replaced with a new mechanism, of the static quantity of green certificates, which will be reviewed every two years by the National Regulatory Authority for Energy (ANRE) and which is meant to create balance between consumers and producers.

“These provisions are also supported by the creation of anonymous platforms for trading energy from renewable sources and green certificates on the centralized markets for electricity trading, so that both large and small producers and suppliers can find their place in the market”, the officials of the ministry say.

At the same time, green certificates will gain value at the moment of trading, not at the moment of issue, as so far, which will remove part of the pressure on cash flow of operators in the field”.

Also, renewable energy producers will pay, according to the new GEO, the corporation tax only at the time of trading the green certificates, and not in the moment of recording in accounting, as it was provided by the previous legislation. This impediment has led to insolvencies and bankruptcies among renewable energy producers, the officials added.

As of 1 April, renewable energy producers will receive the green certificates delayed in 2013.

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