On Tuesday, the government adopted an emergency ordinance whereby Romania puts off, starting July 1, the granting of a part of green certificates to investors in micro-hydro units, wind power plants and photovoltaic power stations.
The measure will be valid until March 2017 for hydropower units and photovoltaic power stations, and until 2018 for wind farms.
According to the decree, wind power producers will receive one green certificate for each megawatt of energy they produce, instead of two certificates currently. Hydropower producers with installed capacity not exceeding 10 MW will receive one certificate instead of three, while solar power producers will get four green certificates instead of six.
Wind power producers will recover the green certificates taken away through the new regulations starting January 1, 2018.
According to RWEA, wind power producers stand to lose hundreds of millions of euros following the measure, “which they won’t be too pleased to accept” considering they started local investments under different regulations.
If the state loses lawsuits with investors, damages will be paid from the state budget and each and every Romanian citizen will pay for the mistakes made by the political class, RWEA warned.
Green energy producers receive a number of certificates depending on the generation technology they use and the amount of energy they produce. They sell green certificates to energy suppliers, who must ensure a certain amount of renewable energy for consumers. The number of green certificates they bought indicates whether they met their quota or not. The affair entails expenses for energy suppliers, which transfer them to beneficiaries.
As Romania has one of the most generous support schemes for renewable energy in Europe, the country has attracted significant investment in the sector. However, many industrial consumers are starting to complain about the high cost of electricity bills and are asking for measures that would limit the impact of green certificates on energy tariffs.