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AUSTRIA
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Renewable Energy
Austria traditionally has a large share of renewable electricity, mainly from hydropower. Since 2002, renewables are supported mainly through the Austrian Green Electricity Act (Ökostromgesetz).
The feed-in tariff has undergone various changes, including limited budgets, which has led to a decline in new installations. The support scheme has recently been adjusted with prolonged guarantee periods and a higher budget. Small hydro and photovoltaics (PV) are now covered through an investment scheme and not by the feed-in tariff. These agreed changes are promising and could re-stimulate capacity increases especially in the fields of wind, hydro and biomass. In July 2011, an amendment of the Ökostromgesetz was published which still needs to be notified by the EU Commission. The amended law will run until 2020.
There is no preferential grid access and the cost for grid extensions is often paid for by the renewables project. This could be improved by adjusting legislation accordingly. The preferential dispatch rules are exemplary. However, no overall strategy for a fully renewable grid structure exists.
The government plans to increase the budget available for renewable electricity (RES-E) support with a one-off €110m fund which will help to reduce waiting lists that have been building-up. In addition, the annual amount of support increases from €21m to €50m, which is split between renewable energy (RE) technologies according to their potential. |
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BELGIUM
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Renewable Energy
In Belgium, renewable electricity is promoted through quota obligations, green certificates and by giving it priority on the grid for both connection and congestion. However, there is not yet a strategy designed to create a grid that can accommodate a large share of renewable electricity.
In the Flemish region, the minimum prices for solar PV were lowered in January and July 2011. They will be lowered again in October 2011 and after that at longer intervals. |
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BULGARIA
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Renewable Energy
Bulgaria passed ambitious renewable energy legislation in 2008 and attracted a lot of potential investors applying for support (PV: 1.6 GWp).
Unfortunately, the strategy for reaching the EU renewable energy targets has not been well structured. This resulted in a (temporary) suspension of the policy until the implications for the public budget are brought to light.
Additionally, the national grid operator continued to control (and thus to limit) grid access of renewable electricity projects.
In April 2011 a new renewable energy act came into force. It fixes the feed-in-tariffs for green electricity producers for a number of years – 20 years for PV, biomass and geothermal and 12 for wind, hydro and other sources. |
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CZECH REPUBLIC
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Renewable Energy
A national action plan for renewable energy was published in July 2010 and approved by the Decision of 25/08/2010, presenting targets for 2020; following this action plan, a review of the renewable energy installations validation process is currently on-going.
A feed-in tariff and green bonuses are in place in the Czech Republic to support the use of renewable energy in electricity generation. The tariff level depends on the technology used. The instrument provides a good legal framework, but long-term reliability has been affected by political decisions. Recently, PV support was lowered as it was decided that the national renewable energy target could be reached with less effort. At the end of 2010, the feed-in tariff (FIT) for PV was lowered substantially for 2011, now only being roughly half of what the 2010 tariffs were. In addition, a tax of 26% on the electricity generated from PV plants installed in 2009 / 2010 was introduced. This increases the instability of the support framework.
Additional constraints relating to renewable energy are currently being discussed by the government, in the form of an obligation to equip all installations of 100 kW or more with an automatic dispatch control which would mean renewable energy production could be automatically curtailed.
In theory, renewable installations are preferably connected to the grid while the congestion management is non-discriminatory. However, currently, applications for grid connection are being denied as new renewable capacity is exceeding the available grid capacity.
The transmission system situation will continue to present a large barrier as planned investments into the infrastructure are insufficient.
In March 2010, the Czech Ministry of Environment issued guidance on the development of PV, wind, biomass and biogas projects, as well as a whole new online information resource describing technical aspects of renewable energy technologies (biomass, wind, biofuels, PV, solar thermal, small hydro, geothermal, biogas). |
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DENMARK
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Renewable Energy
Denmark has high levels of renewable electricity generation installed, especially wind. Support is in place through price premiums and tenders for offshore wind power. Support levels are subject to regular review, but for each individual installation the conditions at the moment of grid connection apply and stay constant over time.
Support is given to different types of installations, except large hydro (>10MW), very small home photovoltaics (PV) systems (<6kW) and geothermal power production.
Especially for biogas, the Danish guaranteed price of 0.76 DKK/kWh is considered too low to secure investment. Furthermore, a lack of clarity regarding the potential for future sales of biogas through the natural gas network hampers growth in this area. The Energy Strategy 2050 plans to increase the use of biogas by subsidising biogas production and ending the use of coal. The transmission grid operator Energinet.dk provides some additional subsidies to small installations and loan guarantees to research opportunities for local wind power generation.
Denmark has an objective to double the share of renewable energy, so that it accounts for at least 30% of energy consumption by 2020 (extended final energy consumption) and 20% by 2011 (gross energy consumption) compared to 15% in 2007. These targets are derived from the EU Renewable Electricity Supply target of 20% renewable electricity supply by 2020. Denmark has agreed to a 30% renewable energy objective as part of the ‘burden sharing’ arrangement agreed under this target. The 20% renewable energy target by 2011 was established by the Parliament as a result of an energy agreement between both government and opposition parties for the period 2008-2011. The long-term vision for Denmark is to be 100% independent from fossil fuels.
Denmark promotes renewable electricity through price regulation. Producers receive a variable premium on top of the market price. The sum of the premium and the market price shall not exceed a certain statutory maximum, which depends on the date of grid connection and the source of energy used. For wind energy, a fixed premium is given on top of the market price for a certain period. In some cases, plant operators are granted a guaranteed bonus and are thus not subject to a statutory maximum. Transmission grid operator Energinet.dk pays an additional subsidy to small systems for the generation of electricity, even small pilot projects are eligible.
In recent years, Denmark has experienced difficulties in finding locations for onshore wind turbines, in part due to political hesitation originating from scepticism toward wind turbines. In 2008, a compensation scheme for wind turbine neighbours was introduced, which makes the deployment of onshore wind turbines more difficult and expensive.
Denmark is introducing sustainability criteria for biomass used for the production of biofuels and bioliquids as set out in the Renewable Energy Directive; its voluntary sustainability criteria for biomass and biofuels is in development.
biomass and biofuels is in development.
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ESTONIA
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Renewable Energy
The February 2010 amendment of the Electricity Market Act reduced the level of support for renewable electricity. Now only a premium of €53.7/MWh is available for renewable electricity. The support is not differentiated by technology and is paid for a maximum of 12 years. However, since 2010, producers can apply for higher tariffs to cover all costs.
Under the GIS, around €22.4m were allocated for the construction of new wind farms.
Wood and wood waste are by far the main renewable energy sources (accounting for about 97%).
Barriers exist, mainly in the integration of wind power into the electricity system. |
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FINLAND
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Renewable Energy
In the beginning of 2011, Finland introduced a feed-in premium scheme to promote use of renewable energy. The premium is equivalent to the difference between the target price and the market price of renewable electricity. An exception is made for electricity production using wood chips, where the premium price depends on the emission permit price. The higher the permit price, the lower the premium. Renewable energy technologies that are eligible for this scheme are: Power by wood chips (> 100 kW), Wind power (>500 kW), Biogas power plants (>100 kW and efficiency > 50%) and Wood fuel combined heat and power (> 100 kW, >8 MW). The tariff prices (i.e. the target prices) are €83.50/MWhe for wind power (with the exception of €105.30/MWhe for the first three years of a wind power plant until 2015), €83.50/MWhe for biogas and wood fuel combined heat and power. For biogas and wood fuel combined heat and power the additional premium for heat production is €50 for biogas and €20 for wood fuels for each produced unit of electricity. Small hydropower (<10 MW) receives energy production subsidy of €4.20/MWhe and investment grant of up to 40% of the investment costs. |
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FRANCE
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Renewable Energy
A feed-in tariff is the main support instrument in place for renewable electricity. The tariff is differentiated according to the technology used. PV, geothermal and offshore wind power receive the highest tariffs. The support is granted for 15 to 20 years and is not generally capped. There is a cap for PV regarding the number of hours that can benefit from the tariffs.
As the current PV projects widely exceed the country’s objectives, France has decided to reduce its feed-in tariff (FIT) for this technology and increase regulation. Since July 2011, PV installations below 100 kWp receive significantly lower tariffs which will be reviewed on a quarterly basis. For larger installations and ground-mounted ones, only those selected via tenders will receive support: a European call for tender was published in July 2011 for roof installations above 250 kWp and ground-mounted installations, and a national call for tender was published in August 2011 for roof installations between 100 and 250 kWp. A new quality label was launched in July 2011: AQPV. This label is meant to promote high-quality and French-manufactured PV panels.
Small biomass installations also benefit from the feed-in tariff since the end of 2009 and the lastest amendments made in January 2011, support large installations through a call for tenders for biomass projects.
On 5 July 2011, a European tender was published for French offshore wind projects. The aim of this tender is to develop 5 wind farms, each in a specific region; the size of each wind farm will vary (from a minimum of 420 MW to a maximum of 750 MW), and the sites are planned to be operational by 2017.
With regard to access and use of the grid, renewable energy plant operators are not given preferential treatment. Both are handled without discrimination against any technology or operator. Only the existing electricity suppliers are obliged to purchase renewable electricity and benefit from national compensation. This creates, de facto, a competitive distortion in the access to renewable electricity between existing suppliers and newcomers. The French grid (except for some French islands where the limit of renewables in the grid has been reached) is quite well developed and can, at least currently, support renewables without additional investment. Thus there is no strategy targeting renewable energy oriented grid structures. However, there is funding for studies in the field of smart grids which in the future will be able to support an increased share of renewable energy. |
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GERMANY
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Renewable Energy
Germany has a differentiated support system for various renewable energy technologies, leading to several types being used. The high feed-in tariff guaranteed for a period of 20 years led to a strong increase in the production of renewable energy. It has grown from 3% in 1990 to 17% in 2010 and 20% by the first half of 2011.
Even though the government has introduced cuts to the tariff for PV, the overall level of support is still sufficiently high to trigger further investment. As of July 2010, feed-in tariffs for solar photovoltaics (PV) have been lowered substantially and future decreases have been accelerated. The rate of decrease is related to the level of PV market development. The reduction of tariffs was further tightened in April 2011. Solar PV is no longer supported on agricultural sites. PV development has slowed down substantially in the first half of 2011.
Biomass: The feed-in tariff is apportioned to and thus paid for by end consumers, and it is planned that households will not have to pay more than an additional €3.5 ct/kWh. Therefore, the government plans to cut the feed-in tariff for biomass.
Electricity producers that generate at least 50% of their electricity from renewables and at least 20% from wind or sun were exempt from additional costs that other electricity producers had to pay if their renewable electricity was not supported through the feed-in tariff. This exemption is abolished as of January 2012. However, apportionment is limited to €2 ct/kWh for these producers, while it was around €3.5 ct/kWh in the past year for other producers.
Improvements are needed in the field of congestion management and improvement of the transmission system. Currently grid operators do not need to accept new renewable energy under specific conditions in case of congestion. This could potentially see the latest and thus most efficient wind plants being turned off.
In June 2011, the government amended the legislation by enacting the Grid Expansion Acceleration Act (NABEG) and the Energy Industry Act (EnWG), which improved the conditions for grid expansion. The EnWG requires transmission system operators to present annually a grid development plan to the regulator, from 2012 on. These three year plans are to contain measures that are necessary to secure grid operation, including a timeline, and information on how previous measures were implemented. |
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GREECE
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Renewable Energy
The primary support instrument for renewable electricity is a feed-in tariff that was introduced in 2006. It covers all renewable technologies and the tariff depends on the technology used. Still, the administrative and technical environment is not very favourable as there are significant project delays – these are mainly due to legal appeals, delays in the construction of power plants because of transaction of licenses among the investors and the lack of access to a proper electricity grid. Major barriers, especially for wind development, include the lack of integrated and binding national land use planning, access to information and stakeholder involvement.
To deal with these problems a law was introduced in 2010 to accelerate the licensing of renewable energy projects. This initiative has been criticised for oversimplifying procedures which could endanger environmental protection. The law allowed the regulator to issue a higher number of permits for renewable energy projects in 2010 than in all previous years cumulatively. Additionally, a new biodiversity law adopted early in 2011 limits the potential for renewable energy development in some categories of protected areas.
The framework for PV development supports fast growth in the residential sector. However the initially defined capacity cap for residential installations and the framework for agricultural PV installations were criticised. The cap on residential installations was finally removed. Investigations into geothermal energy potential started in 2011.
In the connection to and use of the grid, renewable energy projects are preferred to conventionally fuelled sources. Concerning the electricity network development, in 2010 a study was published on the interconnection of Crete and the continental system in line with scenarios of high renewable energy penetration levels. |
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HUNGARY
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Renewable Energy
The main support instruments at national level are the feed-in tariffs for electricity and the investment grants from EU structural funds.
The available budget for renewable electricity is limited. Most of the feed-in tariffs were used to support pure gas and also biomass co-fired combined heat and power plants, which received around two thirds of feed-in funding. In 2009, only 4% of electricity consumed was generated using renewable energy sources. From the funding going into renewables, most is provided to coal plants using 10%-20% biomass for co-firing. This makes the power companies running the coal plants more profitable and slows down the move to renewables. This system is being abolished in the course of 2011, so that feed-in tariffs for electricity will be paid only to power plants fired purely with renewable energy. A new form of support for gas or biomass-fired heat production in combined heat and power plants is expected by January 2012. A tender for a 410 MW wind power project was cancelled; capacity remains at 330 MW.
The concession fee for coal mining was increased significantly, but is still below the fee for gas drilling when comparing the energy content.
The Hungarian government stimulates the agricultural sector to intensively participate in the development of the bio-energy segment through supporting second generation biofuel production (NREAP).
There is support for three categories of bio-energy, among which is solid biomass for electricity production. |
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IRELAND
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Renewable Energy
Ireland has excellent wind power conditions, yet its share of renewable energy has only increased by 7% over the last 20 years. In 2006 a feed-in tariff was implemented (ReFIT), with the aim of 40% of renewables in gross electricity consumption by 2020. The scheme covers large and small-scale wind energy, hydro, biomass landfill gas, and other biomass.
In 2009, this was extended to cover biomass/anaerobic digestion combined heat and power, ocean energy (wave and tidal) and offshore wind, although so far the extended scope has not received EU approval and cannot be implemented. The country has started to investigate how to integrate larger amounts of wind electricity into its all-island grid. Planning is now at an advanced stage. |
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ITALY
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Renewable Energy
Support for renewable electricity is high but important barriers need to be removed to meet future targets, such as administrative bottlenecks.
There is grid priority for renewable energy producers, and they are granted priority in transmission, as long as grid security can be maintained. In this sense current grid capacity is not sufficient. The national grid operator (Terna) has an ambitious investment plan which will hopefully solve the current congestion problems, especially in Southern Italy, where most of the wind capacity is present.
The support is guaranteed for 15-20 years (differentiated by technology). However, the stability of support is not completely predictable in the absence of a medium to long-term strategy and because of frequent changes.
In 2009, a 15 year feed-in tariff for RES-E schemes under 1 MW was introduced. This tariff is expected to have a significant impact on the market.
Photovoltaics (PV) are supported with a premium (Conto Energia) initially introduced in 2005 and then modified again in 2007. This premium for PV production is constant for 20 years and differentiated by size and level of architectural integration.
In August 2010 the third Conto Energia introduced important changes such as new rules and tariffs for plants becoming operational as of January 2011, incentives also for concentrated PV plants, a national target of 8,000 MW by 2020. But this version will not last long: in March 2011 it was decided by Decree Law 28/2011 that Conto Energia III will only be valid for plants becoming operational before 31/08/2011. For PV plants that becoming operational after 31/08/2011 a new Conto Energia IV was published by Ministerial Decree in May 2011.
The Decree Law 28/2011 also introduces some important news for other RES: a new incentive system will be established for electricity producers with renewable sources beginning their activities after 01/01/2013; the green certificate mechanism will end in 2015 with a transition period between 2011 and 2015; and administrative simplifications will be introduced. A new complete set of measures for renewable energy and energy efficiency starting in 2013 is expected to be published in autumn 2011. |
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LATVIA
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Renewable Energy
Latvia has a high share of renewables in electricity production, which is mainly due to a history of large-scale hydropower, although this has decreased over the last years. The support policy is based on a feed-in tariff which is differentiated by technology and sufficiently high, but capped to a limited share of consumption per technology.
Since April 2010, a new feed-in tariff has been implemented. The tariff is granted to biomass, biogas, solar and wind power stations on the basis of a tender. Hydropower plants receive feed-in tariff by submitting an application and necessary documents to the Ministry of Economy and they do not participate in a tender. The new regulation is more transparent and clearer for all. All renewable energy technologies receive support for 20 years. Hydropower receives support if the installed electric capacity is less than 5 MW. For renewable electricity produced in large power plants a reduced feed-in tariff is applied. After 10 years of operation, the level of support will be reduced.
Additionally, some taxes are favourable for renewables, financial support is available from EU structural funds, and climate change financial instruments are used.
However, high uncertainty due to frequent policy changes and changes in the permitting and planning procedures hamper investment. The Law on renewable energy was due to come into force on 1 July 2011, however by the end of August it had yet to do so. On 9 June 2011 the first reading of Law took place, the second one could be submitted until 15 September 2011. |
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LITHUANIA
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Renewable Energy
The current support instrument is a feed-in tariff differentiated by technology and guaranteed for 10 years. However, several barriers exist, like long lead-times for authorisation, environmental impact assessment procedures, and changes in the legal status of land. The adoption of the new law on renewable energy could have positive impacts for the renewable energy sector development in Lithuania. |
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LUXEMBOURG
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Renewable Energy
A feed-in tariff for wind, solar, hydro, sewage and biogas, solid biomass and waste wood was introduced in 1993 and amended in February 2008. It can be combined with investment subsidies. The mechanism has sufficiently high tariffs for different types of technologies, fixed tariffs for 15 or 20 years and a policy without end date and no cap. However, it has not managed to trigger substantial investments in line with the potential of the country. |
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MALTA
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Renewable Energy
In the policy mix for land owners there is support for small grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) and wind installations, net metering for small PV with a fixed electricity price that is lower than the market price, and soft loans. There is no investment security with the existing system, as support can be terminated at any time.
Malta has increased the feed-in tariffs for solar electricity to €25 ct/kWh on the island of Malta and €28 ct/kWh on the island of Gozo. Prices are guaranteed for eight years. The feed-in premium of non-domestic solar energy is €20 ct/kWh and is guaranteed for seven years.
Malta is considering building an offshore wind park in the Mediterranean Sea. Feasibility testing is ongoing. It is unknown when the final investment decision will be made. |
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NETHERLANDS
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Renewable Energy
A new key financial support instrument for renewable energy, called the SDE+ to replace the feed-in premium scheme, SDE. A budget capped at €1.5bn for new installations will be available as from 1 July 2011. It is equivalent to approximately €100m per year. The main difference is that the SDE+ optimises short-term implementation, with a strong focus on cost-effective technologies. Also small-scale PV (<15 kWp) are no longer eligible. The scheme has four sequential subsidy rounds, increasing per round from €9 ct/kWh to €15 ct/kWh. The previous scheme to support innovative but currently more expensive technologies (e.g. geothermal energy, solar PV, off-shore wind) was put on hold. Changes to the system for 2012 onwards have yet to be determined – a requirement for co-firing of biomass and subsidies for renewable heat is under consideration.
Administrative bottlenecks with regards to renewable energy exist, especially for onshore wind power. Policy on renewable energy has been unstable over the last decade. Although the current subsidy scheme gives 12-15 years support once a subsidy is granted, the former scheme stopped unexpectedly in 2006. It took two years for this gap to be filled by the current scheme. Preferential treatment of renewable electricity is not yet established, but introduction of a new policy is underway. Noting the current share of renewable energy in the Netherlands this is not (yet) a barrier for growth of renewable energy.
The Netherlands is considered a frontrunner in sustainable biomass criteria. The Cramer Criteria of 2006 are described in the standard NTA 8080, which is more stringent than EU legislation. Subsidies for biomass within the SDE scheme are not yet subject to sustainability criteria, but some ‘high risk’ biofuels (palm oil) are excluded. |
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POLAND
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Renewable Energy
Support for renewable energies in the electricity sector is granted through a quota in combination with certificates of origin. The certification is the same for all technologies, so expensive technologies, like photovoltaics (PV), are not especially supported. The quota will increase from 10.4% in 2010 to 12.9% in 2017, which is only a third of the required increase. Experts see the current system as expensive and not very efficient. From 1990-2008, the share of renewable electricity increased by just 3%. The approval phase for renewables projects is rather long.
Renewable electricity producers are granted access to the grid ‘without discrimination’, i.e. not preferentially. Regarding congestion management, renewable electricity is treated preferentially. The Polish grid infrastructure in general will be reinforced, and renewables are one of the reasons for that. However, no strategy taking into account the special needs of renewables exists.
The National Action Plan for Energy from Renewable Energy Sources targets a 15.5% share of renewable energy sources in energy production by 2020. Meanwhile, in accordance with EU energy and climate package, Poland should by then be producing up to 15% of green electricity and heat. |
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PORTUGAL
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Renewable Energy
Feed-in tariffs are available for almost all renewable electricity producers and have, in combination with tendering schemes for wind and biomass, proved to be very effective. They have led to very steep growth of both installed capacity and produced electricity over the last five to six years. Both the scheme and the tariffs are continuously monitored against results and level of maturity of the market. The scheme is used in combination with periodic tenders to assign grid connection lots.
Specific micro-production (up to 5.78 kW) and a new mini-production (up to 250 kW) subsidy schemes are available for households and SMEs. |
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ROMANIA
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Renewable Energy
The 2010 targets for renewable electricity were already met in 2007. Romania has renewable energy policies, but they are not effective yet. Most were planned to become effective between 2008 and 2010. Because of economic recession, these laws are still postponed.
Green Certificates became operational in 2005. The annual quota for renewable energy that benefits from this promotion system is increasing every year. The strategy is to give renewable electricity priority access on the electricity grid, but implementing measures are not in place.
Romania developed a biomass master plan in July 2010, but has yet to implement it. Specific measures for the promotion of the use of energy from biomass are included in the National Renewable Energy Action Plan.
Law 220/2008 for the production of electricity from renewable energy sources has been modified and completed by several legislative acts. The application norms for Law 220 are in place and approved by the Romanian Government. The European Commission approved the Romanian Green Certificates renewable energy support scheme. |
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SLOVAKIA
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Renewable Energy
The key support instrument for renewable electricity is a feed-in premium, where a fixed price is paid in addition to the current electricity price. Additionally, renewable energies are exempt from the consumption tax and voluntary green certificates for renewable-based electricity can be used. In 2010, legislative amendments reduced support by lifting the maximum tariff decrease limitation. |
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SLOVENIA
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Renewable Energy
The relatively well functioning renewable electricity support scheme is differentiated by technology and valid for 15 years. Producers of smaller plants may choose between a feed-in tariff (guaranteed purchase) and a feed-in premium (on top of power price) for renewable energy plants up to 5 MW and combined heat and power (CHP) plants up to 1 MW. Larger plants are only eligible for the feed-in premium. The Spatial Development Strategy defines the use of renewable energy sources as a priority for new or modernised public infrastructure. An amendment to the Regulation on Support of Electricity Produced from renewable energy introduces a 10% annual decrease of support for PV installations until 2014.
Slovenia objects to an EU standard for sustainable biomass criteria especially for energy use, warning that such standards would have to be applied globally. |
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SPAIN
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Renewable Energy
Spain supports the use of renewables for electricity generation by a feed-in premium or a feed-in tariff. The level of support for renewables has been rather high. The support is differentiated according to technology. Biomass has never succeeded in Spain because tariffs are too low.
Tariff cuts in 2011 (especially for PV and wind) and new regulations introduced by Royal Decrees 1614/2010, 1565/2010 and 14/2010 severely slowed the deployment rate for both technologies and has also negatively affected other renewable energy sources, such as solar thermal electricity.
The administrative environment for renewable projects could be improved. The policy framework is unstable because in the past, the target for PV and biomass was surpassed and a cap was introduced in 2009. In addition, attempts were made to change the framework retroactively, causing protests by investors. Spain is very decentralised and at the moment, permitting procedures differ from region to region. On the positive side, grid access and congestion management give preference to renewables by law in the whole of Spain. Nevertheless, a non-transparent framework and high administrative burdens can cause difficulties in accessing the grid. An expansion of the Spanish power grid is envisaged, but without a special focus on the needs of renewables.
With the implementation of the new Sustainable Economy Law 8% of investment in renewables can be deducted from income tax. |
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SWEDEN
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Renewable Energy
Sweden has had a tradable green certificate system in place to support renewable electricity, which has remained relatively unchanged since 2003. The system provides a relatively low level of support and is not specified by technology. Legislative amendments which entered into force on 1 July 2010 extend the quota obligation until the end of 2035. The new renewable electricity target determines that renewable electricity production should increase by 25 TWh in 2020 compared to 2002 levels. Currently, the electricity certificates system applies only to electricity produced in Sweden. However, Norway and Sweden have agreed to introduce a joint green certificates market as from 1 January 2012. From 1 January 2011 bio-liquids used to generate electricity must demonstrate that they are sustainable in line with the Renewable Energy Directive. Peat is not yet defined as non-renewable. Investment support was given to certain technologies, including offshore wind and wind in remote areas until 2009. Solar heating has been supported but will not be supported as from 2012. Stopping support for solar electricity by 2013 is currently under discussion. Lead times for the implementation of projects are relatively long compared to other EU member states. This lack of support instruments for many renewable energy technologies results in a relatively low ranking for Sweden in this area, despite its high current share of renewable electricity production.
In 2009, biomass overtook oil to become the number one energy source in Sweden. Sweden’s target under the EU Renewable Energy Directive is 49% renewables by 2020. The government has adopted a 50% target. |
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UNITED KINGDOM
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Renewable Energy
A Renewables Obligation has been in place since 2002, which places an obligation on electricity suppliers to supply an increasing percentage of renewable electricity. It is a stable policy, which will be in place until at least 2037. The UK achieves around 6% renewable electricity currently. The obligation targets 15% renewable electricity by 2015. It offers sufficient support, particularly since technology banding was introduced. However, non-economic barriers have persisted, especially in the areas of grid access and planning. A feed-in tariff has been in place for small-scale renewables since April 2010.
The solar feed-in tariff for installations has been cut from 32.9p/kwh to 19p in 2011.
Scotland set a renewable electricity target of 100% for 2020. |