The European Commission said on Wednesday that the Romanian green certificate reduction scheme, reducing the contributions of certain energy-intensive users to the financing of renewable energy, is in line with EU state aid rules.
The Commission said in a statement it has concluded that the partial compensation for the cost of financing renewable energy support is necessary to ensure the competitiveness of energy-intensive industries without unduly distorting competition in the single market.
"The Romanian scheme enables companies that are both electro-intensive and exposed to international trade to remain competitive without unduly distorting competition in the Single Market. It will support Romania in reaching its 2020 climate targets whilst at the same time appropriately addressing the risk of carbon leakage," said Joaquin Almunia, Commission vice president in charge of competition policy, in the statement.
In July 2014, Romania said it planned to reduce the contributions of certain companies using renewable energy, in particular those companies active in sectors with high electro-intensity and trade exposure. Beneficiaries will pay 85%, 60% or 40% less renewable energy source (RES) support if they demonstrate an electro-intensity of more than 20%, between 10% and 20%, or between 5% and 10%, respectively.
The commission assessed the compatibility of the measure under the provisions of its new Energy and Environmental Aid Guidelines adopted in April 2014. The investigation found that reductions are limited to companies active in sectors recognised by the guidelines as being both energy-intensive and exposed to international trade.
The additional conditions to select eligible beneficiaries are objective and transparent and do not discriminate between companies that are in a similar situation.
The green certificate reduction scheme will come into force on December 1, 2014 and will expire on December 31, 2024, with the annual budget estimated at around 75 million euro ($94.8 million) and with around 300 beneficiaries.
In July 2011, the Commission approved the Romanian green certificate support system for promoting electricity from renewable energy sources. Producers of electricity from RES receive a specific number of green certificates, depending on the technology used, for each MWh produced and delivered to the grid. Electricity suppliers need to purchase a mandatory quota of green certificates and fully pass on the costs of the green certificates to end consumers.
($ = 0.7908 euro)
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