The emergency decree temporarily reduces state support for renewable energy producers starting July 1. The measure will be valid until March 2017 for hydropower units and photovoltaic power stations, and until 2018 for wind farms.
Investors in the sector receive a number of certificates depending on the generation technology they use and the amount of green 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 consumers.
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.
Solar power and hydropower producers will recover the green certificates taken away through the new regulations starting April 1, 2017, while wind power producers will recover them starting January 1, 2018.
Green energy may also be traded on the regulated market, the decree states. Currently, households do not receive green energy, although they cover a part of green certificate costs.
Under the new regulations, green energy producers will not receive green certificated for the amount of energy that exceeds a level announced by power grid operator Transelectrica (TEL.RO). Also, solar power producers which install panels on farmland will not receive green certificates.
Renewable energy producers will trade green certificated only on the local energy exchange OPCOM.
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 have started to complain about the high cost of electricity bills and asked for measures that would limit the impact of green certificates on energy tariffs.
The newly revised support scheme for renewable energy producers has left out a previous stipulation under which industrial consumers would be exempted from paying part of the production costs in the green energy sector.
The Romanian Wind Energy Association (RWEA) said last week that amending the law on the production of renewable energy through emergency ordinance is illegal and breaches European directives, and warned that Romanians would pay significant damages if the state lost lawsuits with investors.