Significant amendments to the Romanian energy law

As of 1st of July 2013, the Law no. 220/2008 on promoting the production of electrical energy from renewable energy sources came into force, as amended in accordance with the Emergency Ordinance no. 57 / 2013.

There are significant changes to the current legal situation, which considerably affect the decision to invest in the field of renewable energy.

The amended law reflects temporary reductions of the green certificates to be issued per MW of generated and injected energy as well as further limitations in respect of investments to be supported.

The following significant amendments to the Law 220 / 2008 are presented as an example:

I. The temporary reduction of the below listed number of green certificates (‘’GC’’) per generated and injected MW:

• 1 GC for wind power plants with installed capacity up to 10 MW and hydro power plants, respectively
• 2 GCs for energy generated by solar plants per MW.

Thus, for example, as of 1st of July 2013, the solar plants receive four instead of currently six GCs for generated and injected MW.

It is noteworthy that subject to reduction are all plants, whether they are already connected or not.

The amended law provides that the number of suspended GCs will be retroactively assigned starting with 31 of March 2017 for hydro power and solar plants, and starting with 1st of January 2018 for wind power plants. However, it remains to be seen how the rules to be adopted in this respect by the competent authority ANRE (National Regulatory Authority in the Field of Energy) will be issued.

II. Further limitations are stipulated in respect of accreditation of plants for the purpose of inclusion in the funding scheme. Thus, besides an annual rate to be determined the non-applicability of the funding scheme for solar plant located on agricultural land is regulated.

The Law 220 / 2008 as amended in accordance with the above mentioned Emergency Ordinance provides further changes regarding the GCs trading.

In economic terms, the amendments to the funding scheme lead to diminishing the income of the operators of the respective plants. Nevertheless, investments based on the current funding scheme (for example four GCs per MW of generated and injected energy from solar plants) compared to other markets can still be evaluated as attractive. Whether and under which conditions a retroactive refunding of suspended GCs will occur is yet to be seen.

Contact Person:

Dr. Heinrich Nerlich, Osnabrück

Helge Schirkonyer, Bukarest