EU national governments are to get full control over cross-border virtual
renewables trade in a new EU renewables law the European Commission proposed
January 23.
The EC still backs the principle of cross-border trade in renewable
"guarantees of origin"--electronic data tags for each MWh of renewable power
or heat--to give member states flexibility in reaching their share of the EU's
20% by 2020 binding renewables target.
Renewables' share of final EU energy use was 8.5% in 2005, leaving 11.5
percentage points more needed to reach the 2020 target.
But the proposed law gives EU governments the right to set up "prior
authorization" systems to control GOO imports and exports in order to ensure
secure energy supplies, achieve environmental aims or meet their national
targets.
Only EU countries which have met their indicative interim targets are to
be allowed to transfer GOOs to other EU countries. These traded GOOs would
have to be from installations or extra capacity brought online after the new
law takes effect--the proposed date is March 31, 2010.
EU countries which miss their indicative interim targets would have to
submit a new national action plan to the EC showing how they intend to catch
up.
The law forces renewable producers to stick with the national support
scheme chosen at the start of new production for the lifetime of the plant--so
that they cannot shop around for the best support deal each year. And the EC
is to review the need for a harmonized EU support scheme by end-2017.
Non-EU imported renewable power can count toward EU countries' national
targets under certain conditions. These include that it is from plant
installed after the law takes effect, it is physically used in the EU and it
is issued with a GOO from a system equivalent to the EU's.
This implies bilateral agreements with non-EU producers would be needed,
but opens up possibilities for future renewables trade with north African and
Middle Eastern countries around the Mediterranean.
The EC wants to get agreement on its renewables law from the European
Parliament and EU Council of member state governments by early 2009.
EU countries will not have to adopt binding national targets for
renewable power and heat, the European Commission said January 23 presenting
its proposed new EU renewables law.
In March EU leaders backed EC proposals for a binding 10% biofuels share
by 2020 in each member state, included in an overall binding EU target of 20%
renewables by 2020.
The EC has translated these into 27 binding national renewables targets
annexed to its proposed law, but has left EU countries free to decide on the
split between power, heating/cooling and transport by 2020. However, all EU
countries have to ensure that at least 10% of their energy used in transport
is from renewables by 2020.
Renewables' share of final EU energy use was 8.5% in 2005, leaving 11.5
percentage points more needed to reach the 2020 target.
The EC has split this
between EU countries based on a flat rate increase for all of 5.5 percentage
points, with the remainder allocated according to GDP/capita--with richer
countries having to do more--and efforts already made.
The national targets range from 49% share for Sweden--which had the
highest renewables share in the EU in 2005 at 39.8%--to 10% for Malta, which
had no renewables in 2005.
Indicative interim targets
The EC has set indicative progressive interim targets for every second
year from 2010, when the EC hopes the new law would enter into force. These
targets are set to curve upwards to be "innovation-friendly," so that EU
countries will have to achieve 25% of the difference between their 2005 and
2020 share by 2012, rising to 65% by 2018.
EU countries can also ask the EC to take post-2020 production from large
renewable plants with very long lead times into account when assessing final
renewable energy use in 2020.
The EC is to develop rules to govern this option by end-2012 at the
latest. The proposed law includes initial conditions that building work must
have started by 2016, the plant capacity must be at least 5 GW, and must be
online by 2022.
EU countries are to be able to ask the EC to consider adjusting their
2020 target if they can demonstrate that it will be impossible to meet because
of force majeure.
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