“Solar and hydro energy producers are definitely overcompensated. We have proposed the government to cut the number of green certificates to 2.6 from 3 for the energy produced in micro hydropower plants and to 5 from 6 for solar energy,” said Zoltan Nagy-Bege, member in ANRE’s Regulatory Committee.
Speaking at an energy seminar, he said the proposition was filed in 2012 and the authorities should have implemented a reduced scheme starting with 2013.
“Meanwhile, the Law 34 was passed, which stipulates the number of green certificates for solar energy will remain unchanged until 2015,” the ANRE official added.
Nagy-Bege said ANRE will renew its proposition to reduce state subsidies for solar energy as of 2014.
“The number of green certificates will most certainly be lowered and, in the case of solar energy, I expect them to fall below 4 in 2014,” he said.
Local producers of renewable energy benefit from government support via a green certificates scheme, which allows them to recover part of the production costs. Each renewable energy producer is granted a number of green certificates for power fed into the electricity grid.
The subsidies, which are eventually passed into consumers’ electricity bills, are not available for producers of conventional energy.
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.
Romania has a combined installed wind energy capacity of around 1,600 megawatts, with another 700 MW being in the testing period. Solar energy farms reach a combined capacity of 71 MW, while biomass power plants of 44 MW. Micro hydropower plants, with individual capacities of below 10 MW, have a combined installed capacity of 453 MW.