The Ordinance amending the current support scheme for green energy producers, adopted by the Government of Romania

The Government has decided to postpone, as of July 1^st, the granting of part of the green certificates to investors in micro hydropower stations, wind power plants and photovoltaic power stations, the measure following to apply until March 2017 for hydro and solar power plants and until 2018 for wind power plants. The postponement was decided by the Emergency Ordinance approved in Tuesday meeting. In the initial project, the postponement of certificates for energy producers in solar parks and those in micro hydropower stations was calculated until January 1^st 2017. For wind energy producers the same deadline was provided, i.e. January 1^st 2018. The emergency ordinance amends and supplements Law 220/2008 for the establishment of the promotion system of energy production from renewable energy sources. According to the Government, the ordinance provides the temporary postponement, as of July 1^st 2013, of granting a number of green certificates for each MWh produced in new hydropower stations with installed powers lower than or equal to 10MW (one green certificate), by wind power plants (one green certificate) and solar parks (two green certificates). The project also provided that for photovoltaic units only four certificates would be granted. Currently, six green certificates are granted for each MWh of energy produced in photovoltaic plants, two certificates for energy produced in new wind farms and three certificates for hydro energy. The ordinance limits the accreditation of power plants/groups for the implementation of the promotion system through green certificates to the total annual level of installed capacities in power plants producing electricity from renewable sources, which is set in the National Action Plan in the Renewable Energy Sector, introduces the obligation for the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) to regulate by annual quotas the amount of electricity from renewable sources to be taken over in the National Power System and sets the half-yearly monitoring by ANRE, which, in the Government’s opinion, will allow the immediate implementation of the overcompensation adjustment mechanism.

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