Although the price per certificate went down in 2013 as a result of the abundant supply on the market, the energy regulatory authority ANRE, doubled the amount of certificates that have to be bought compared with 2012.
Clean energy producers issue green certificates, which electricity suppliers then buy from the market to prove they met a yearly quota set by ANRE. The authority set the 2013 quota at 0.224 certificates per MWh of power delivered, from 0.116 MWh in 2012.
“Many new plants qualified for the support scheme at the end of 2013 and ANRE had to increase its purchase quota estimate. It issued the final version very late, at the end of February, because it did not have final figures about Romania’s consumption,” energy market sources said.
With its 3 TWh electricity consumption or 6% of the total consumption of the country, Alro will need 670,548 green certificates to be able to report compliance with the 2013 obligations on April 1, according to ANRE data. The aluminum smelter, which is also a licensed electricity supplier, had to buy only 367,037 green certificates in 2012.
The abundant supply of green certificates on the market as a result of an increase in renewable power production in 2013, drove the average weighted price to RON190, after the certificates traded close to the maximum price set for the support scheme by law, about RON244, in 2012.
“The price went down because very many solar power producers started operations in 2013. Until the summer, the only certificates on the market came from wind farms. The renewable energy law encouraged the photovoltaic park segment quite a lot, the producers got six certificates, so they could sell them for RON160 a piece and still make profit. Wind farm operators hung on to their certificates and sold them towards the end of the year,” the quoted source said.
Therefore the certificates Alro had to purchase for 2013 amounted to some RON127.8 million from RON89.5 million in 2012.
ArcelorMittal Galati, the second largest consumer of the group, needs 260,558 certificates for 2013 compared with 118,837 in 2012, according to ANRE data. The certificate cost for the plant stands at RON49.6 million compared with RON29 million in 2012.
The cost of green certificates consumers will have to pay in 2014 will depend on the quota set by ANRE and the market price of green certificates.
Although the changes to the support scheme reduced the number of certificates green power producers get, there are very many certificates unsold on the market and oversupply could put pressure on prices again.
“Producers will want to get a higher price because they have a lower number of certificates now. They will stick to a price but will be desperate to sell to get cash so they might be selling them every month,” said an electricity supply market source.
The quoted source estimates an average price of RON160 per certificate in 2014. ANRE has not set the purchase quota for this year but if it goes up slightly to 0.25 certificates per MWh, the cost of green power subsidies consumers will have to pay could be the same as last year or even drop slightly. (EUR1=RON4.4997)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)