Sustainable Energy Law Notebook

As mentionned in an earlier post (to read HERE ), 2012 will be the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All , and will be sponsored by the United Nations Foundation, the inter-agency UN-Energy, Bloomberg New Energy Finance, and other public and private organisations. Its aim is twofold: increase awareness and find solutions on access to energy (with the objective of universal access by 2030 ) that is, in addition, affordable, clean and safe. It has as starting point the adoption in December 2010 of a UN General Assembly resolution endorsing the topic of this international year ( GA/11040, 66th GA, 69th meeting, 20 December 2010; and Resolution 65/151 adopted by the GA on 16 February 2011 ), and its confirmation by its Secretary General in February 2011 . The initiative takes as starting point that " more than 1.4 billion people worldwide have no access to electricity, and 1 billion more only have intermittent access. Some 2.5 billion people – almost half of humanity...

Pressemelding fra Olje- og Energidepartement, publisert i dag 22. desember 2011: " Felles EU-regler for tildeling av kvoter Etter forhandlinger med EU legger Regjeringen opp til at de felles EU-reglene for tildeling av klimakvoter skal gjelde alle norske bedrifter. Det innebærer at også petroleumsvirksomheten i perioden 2013-2020 vil få tildelt klimakvoter etter de samme reglene som tilsvarende bedrifter i EU. Tildelingen av kvoter vil ikke ha direkte virkning for CO2-prisen petroleumssektoren står overfor. Regjeringen legger imidlertid til grunn at petroleumsvirksomheten ikke skal få økonomiske lettelser som følge av kvotene, og vil komme tilbake med forslag for å ivareta dette. I perioden 2008-2012 har petroleumsvirksomheten i Norge måttet kjøpe alle kvotene i det europeiske kvotemarkedet. Regjeringen er fortsatt i forhandlinger med EU-kommisjonen om tilpasninger til det reviderte kvotedirektivet for perioden 2013-2020. For framdriften i arbeidet med å innføre det r...

The EEA Joint Committee backed yesterday, 19 December 2011 , the incorporation of Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources into the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement . Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein (under specific conditions for the latter) are now committed to implement the directive as negotiated. The directive enters into force in Norway today, 20 December 2011 . Hereafter copy of the press release from the Norwegian Ministry for Petroleum and Energy: " Hensikten med fornybardirektivet er å sikre et langsiktig samarbeid i Europa for å fremme produksjon og bruk av fornybar energi. Direktivet etablerer et felles rammeverk og setter bindende nasjonale mål. Målet er at i 2020 skal EU ha en andel fornybar energi som er 20 prosent av totalt energibruk. Dette er en betydelig økning fra 2005 hvor andelen fornybar energi i EU var på rundt 8,5 prosent. I tillegg skal alle medlemslandene og Norge ha en andel på 10 prosent for...

On 15 December 2011 , the Nordic Energy Regulations (NordREG) adopted a recommendation (available here ) that requires the provision of one single bill for final electricity customers, putting together electricity supply costs and grid costs . According to the chairman of NordREG Board, Finn Dehlbæk, " One bill instead of two will make life easier for many electricity customers. It also increases the potential for electricity suppliers to compete on equal terms ." One could actually see this development as a step back, as the supplier would be able to offer a single product, and obviously much will depend on the strict observance of the tariffs regulation for network costs, and unbundling rules for not resulting in anti-competitive behaviours . In its press release, NordREG is convinced that a single bill can only reinforce competition in the end-user market. This is also though as an additional tool that contributes to the objective pursued by Nordic E...

The ENVI Committee of the European Parliament will discuss Monday 19 December 2011 the draft report on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on energy efficiency and repealing Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC  presented by MEP Claude Turmes  on 4 October 2011. The Sustainable Energy Law Notebook will follow-up this important legislative initiative that will constitute a key priority of the Danish Presidency, first semester 2012 . 

The Norwegian Ministry for Petroleum and Energy (OED) has adopted today, 16 December 2011, the last main piece of legislation that enables the effective start of the green certificates market (elsertifikater) on 1 January 2012 . OED adopted the regulations ( forskrift til lov om elsertifikater ) implementing the green certificates act ( lov om elsertifikater ). The text of the regulations is available here (in Norwegian).

Today, 16 December 2011 , the Norwegian Council of State (Statsråd) gave its official assent to the bitaleral agreement for the establishment of a joint green certificates market between Norway and Sweden as well as the incorporation of Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources into the EEA Agreement. The last procedural details as to the incorporation are expected to be dealt with on Monday 19 December. The very last details before the start of the market on 1 January 2012 will be the adoption the implementation regulations of the green certificates act and the amendments to the metering regulations. Hereafter a copy of the press release published today by the TSO Statnett which will be responsible for the green certificates registry: " Statnett i rute med elsertifikatregister(16.12.2011) I dag har traktaten med Sverige om et felles elsertifikatmarked mellom Norge og Sverige, forskrift om elsertifikater og forn...

The Norwegian Parliament ( Stortinget ) has given today, 12 December 2011 , its consent on two acts of importance for the future renewable energy policy of the country: 1. consent on the bitateral agreement between Norway and Sweden on the establishment of a joint market for green certificates to start on 1 January 2012 . The details of the legislative procedure are available here  (in Norwegian). The Norwegian act on green certificates (so-called elsertifikater ) was adopted on 24 June 2011 ( Lov om elsertifikater ). " Vedtak i korthet Stortinget har samtykket til inngåelse av avtale mellom Kongeriket Norges regjering og Kongeriket Sveriges regjering om et felles marked for elsertifikater av 29. juni 2011 ." 2 . consent on the incorporation of Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (RES Directive) into the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA) . The details of the legislative procedure are available here ...

On Tuesday, the Norwegian government will release an atlas for CO 2 storage ordered by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, and prepared by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) . The atlas will cover the Norwegian part of the North Sea . As mentionned by the Directorate: " The atlas provides an overview over areas where CO 2 can be stored safely in the subsurface for a long time. It also estimates the size of the CO 2 storage capacity in this part of the North Sea ."

The parties to 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) , 7th Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COM17/CMP7), which took place in Durban, South Africa ( 28 November to 9 December 2011), adopted early Sunday morning an agreement . The preliminary version of the texts adopted at Durban is available on the official website of the UNFCCC here . Official version will be published in a couple of days. I will detail in a separate paper for ASIL the consequences of the agreements for the energy sector next week. As of today, the following can already be said. Parties agreed: to discuss legally binding measures on climate change, i.e. a new Treaty or similar legally binding instrument, to be agreed on by 2015 and which will enter into force in 2020 ("Durban Platform for Enhanced Action");  on a prolongation of the Kyoto Protocol first commitment period (first period was 2008-2012; second commitment p...

The EU Regulation No. 1227/2011 of 25 October 2011 on wholesale energy market integrity and transparency , so-called REMIT Regulation , has been published today in the official journal of the EU (OJ L 326, 08.12.2011, p.1). The regulation will enter into force on the 20th day following its publication. 　 See previous posts on the REMIT Regulation on the Sustainable Energy Law Notebook here .

Statnett sendte i dag et informasjonsskriv til produsenter av fornybar kraft om den kommende svensk-norsk elsertifikatmarked fra 1. januar 2012 . Infoskrivet kan leses her . Den inneholder en generell beskrivelse av ordningen, men ikke enda de siste endringene som skulle komme etter vedtagelse av forskriften om elsertifikater ved NVE.

Today has been published in the Official Journal of the EU Commission Regulation (EU) No 1193/2011 of 18 November 2011 establishing a Union Registry for the trading period commencing on 1 January 2013, and subsequent trading periods (OJ L 315 of 29.11.2011, p.1). The regulation is available HERE and will shortly be commented on that blog.

I am glad to announce that I will report for the online journal, Insights , of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) on the energy sides of COP17/CMP7 - the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) , 7th Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol - , which will take place from 28 November to 9 December 2011 in Durban, South Africa . The report will be available online just after the conference. More on Insights here . More on COP17/CMP17 here .

Teknisk Ukeblad publiserte i sin siste utgave (39/11) en artikkel hvor de fremstår at "Enova vil gi dobbelt støtte". Dette er en problemstilling som skal gis nytt perspektiv når marked for elsertifikater starter 1. januar 2012. Men problemstillingen er ikke ny og regelverket eksisterer. Jeg viser spesielt til EU/EØS-statstøtte regimet. Spørsmål er å vite hvis regelverket holder , og sikrer at fornybar energi prosjekter utvikler og konkurransemessige vilkår . Se nedenfor kopi av en artikkel om akkurat samme problemstillingen som jeg skrev for Advokatfirma SIMONSEN i år under tittel: "How much support can a renewable energy project get?" (sider 46-47) Når det gjelder kumulering av investeringsstøtte og elsertifikater, er det viktig¨å minne at andre nasjonale grønne sertifikater ordninger som tillatter kumulering av støtte . Til slutt er det også viktig å understrekke at en diskusjon om kumulering av støtte for fornybar energi prosjekter må...

ENTSO-E, the European Network of Transmission System Operators (TSOs), published on 24 November 2011 its Winter Outlook 2011-2012 . The full report is available HERE .

Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights has been published in today's Official Journal of the EU (OJ L 304, 22.11.2011, p. 64). The directive is a milestone as it merges and updates 4 existing directives on consumer protection , namely: Council Directive 93/13/EEC Directive 1999/44/EC Directive 85/577/EEC Directive 97/7/EC. Here is the text of Directive 2011/83/EU. Here is the website of the EU Commission, DG Health and Consumers, Consumer Affairs.

Forbrukerombudet publiserte 18. november en pressemelding hvor det er  anbefalt å ikke inngå strømavtaler  ved dørsalg . Praktisen er ikke i seg selv forbudt . Likevel, utgangspunktet for at Forbrukerombudet la merke til den var en rekke klager som kom inn i forhold til såkalte rutinekontroller som ble til faktisk besøk med formålet å skaffe nye kunder. Forbrukerombud, Gry Nergård, konkluderte i saken at: " Ein slik metode er i strid med marknadsføringslova. All marknadsføring skal tydeleg framstå som marknadsføring og ikkje kamuflerast som noko anna ." I denne sittuasjonen kan dørsalg av strøm blir særlig kvalifisert som urimelig og aggressiv handelsprasis i følge Markedsføringsloven. For en diskusjon om dørsalg og Markedsføringsloven og behov for å innføre i loven en reservasjonsadgang for alle former for dørsalg, se blant annet: Ot. Prp. nr. 55 (2007-2008) OM Lov om kontroll med markedsføring og avtalevilkår mv., Kap. 9.3 Dørssalg. Kompleksit...

Stortinget har lagt ut på nettet at den foreløpig dato for behandling av (1) Proposisjoner om Stortingets Samtykke om Fornybardirektivet (Prop. 4 S, oversikt HER ) og (2) Felles Elsertifikater med Sverige  (Prop. 5 S, oversikt HER ) (se også notat HER ) blir nå  12 . desember 2011 . Når det gjelder samtykke proposisjon, bør man minne om det følgende (fra Prop. 4 S): " Stortingets samtykke til godkjennelse av beslutningen er derfor nødvendig i samsvar med Grunnloven § 26, annet ledd. For at EØS-komiteens beslutning skal kunne tre i kraft så tidlig som mulig, legges det opp til at Stortingets samtykke innhentes før det treffes beslutning i EØS-komiteen ." English version The Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget) har announced yesterday that the provisional date for the debate and adoption of the two proposals related to (1) the consent as to the incorporation of the Renewables Directive 2009/28/EC in national legislation and, thereby, the EEA Agreement,...

The European Commisison published today in the Official Journal a Communication ( HERE ) extending the date of expiry of the currently applicable 2005 Communication on the Community framework for State aid in the form of public service compensation  (OJ C 337, 18.11.2011, p. 2). The framework was supposed to expire on 29 November 2011 , i.e., 6 years after the adoption of the 2005 Communication . As the Commission is currently in the process of reviewing the state aid rules for the compensation of services of general economic interest , the 2005 framework will continue to apply until the adoption of the new one. More information on the review process on the SGEI website of the Commission.

Jonas Gahr Støre presenterte i dag til Stortinget den Halvårlig redegjørelse om viktige EU- og EØS-saker . Når det gjelder energi (nevnt 13 ganger), påpeker Støre i hans tallet at: Felles syn med EU ?  " I de langt fleste utenrikspolitiske saker har Norge grunnleggende felles syn med EU-landene. Vi trenger Europas tydelige stemme og engasjement for å drive store saker fremover. Dette er helt avgjørende for å finne gode løsninger på globale utfordringer som klima, miljø, energisikkerhet ..." Etter min mening, på energi-området kan man mer snakke om opportunitet enn et felles syn med EU. Vilkårene for energipolitikken er relativt forskellige med en avhengihet forhold mellom en produsent og sin klient. Forskning - " Regjeringen er opptatt av å påvirke innretningen i det nye forskningsprogrammet [...] Blant de innspill vi har fremmet, er økt vekt på globale samfunnsutfordringer som hvert enkelt land ikke kan løse alene – som klimaendringer, ... energiforsyning ...

Norges vassdrags- og energidirektorat (NVE) sendte 15. november på høring forslag til endring i: Forskrift 7. mai 2002 nr. 448 om systemansvaret i kraftsystemet ( systemansvarsforskfriten ); Forskrift 7. desember 1990 nr. 959 om produksjon, omforming, overføring, omsetning, fordeling og bruk av energi m.m. ( energilovforskriften ); Forskrift 14. desember 2007 nr. 1652 om opprinnelsesgarantier for produksjon av elektrisk energi ( forskrift om opprinnelsesgarantier (OG) for kraft ). Fornybardirektivet og elsertifikatmarkedet krever nødvendige endringer i norsk rett Formålet med endringene er først å gjennomføre flere bestemmelser fra Direktiv 2009/28/EF, såkalt Fornybardirektivet II samt en litt eldre vedtagelse, nemlig kommisjonsvedtak 2008/952/EF vedrørende Direktiv 2004/8/EF, såkalt CHP Direktivet. Selv om fornybardirektivet ikke er enda inkorporert EØS-avtalen er det viktig å gjennomføre disse bestemmelsene før oppstart at elsertifikatmarkedet 1. januar 20...

Today are inaugurated the twin natural gas pipelines of the Nord Stream transportation system . A live stream will be running on the Nord Stream website from 11:45. Watch it at: http://www.nord-stream.com/ Picture : Nord Stream Operation Facilities (c) Nord Stream AG

APX-ENDEX , an Amsterdam-based energy exchange, launched today, 3 November 2011, the world's first exchange for biomass renewable energy . In practice, the exchange will propose trading certified wood pellet contracts . " Contracts offered for trading include three months contracts, three quarters and three calendars. As with all the APX-ENDEX futures contracts, wood pellets contracts are listed on Trayport’s Global Vision ."   The idea of a biomass exchange located at the Port of Rotterdam - which receives, handles and stores pellets - has been discussed for several years now. APX-ENDEX reminds that they launched the Industrial Wood Pellets price already in 2008. Today's announcement inscribes itslelf in its continuity and is only the first step of a project that will be completed in 2012 with associated services on the exchange: " The biomass exchange, developed in cooperation with Port of Rotterdam, is launched in two phases. The initi...

Thank you for your increasing interest in the Sustainable Energy Law Notebook . And keep posting comments .

Today I would like to share with you an article sent by the team of Compare Electricity Rates . The latter aims to facilitate comparison between electricity providers in the United States , as well as  help customers understand their electricity bill . It provide two comparative toools: "Compare Electricity Bills by State" and "Compare Electricity Usage by State".   Some of these tasks are undertaken in Europe by competition authorities or energy regulators. Private driven websites are also making public comparison tools. Making electric bills more transparent and comparing prices are fundamental for the  protection of electricity customers rights . At EU level, I refer to the works of the Citizens' Energy Forum (so-called London Forum). In November 2010, the EU Commission adopted a Staff Working Paper on "An Energy Policy for Consumers" ( SEC(2010) 1407 final ). Read the latest article published by  Compare Electricity Rates here: ...

Here is a link to an article I wrote on the regulatory framework adopted in Norway in 2011 for the roll-out of  smart metering and Advanced / Intellingent Metering Systems (AMS/IMS) , as well as associated legal issues: "Norway adopts smart metering regulation" by C. Banet, published 27.10.2011. Picture: (c) Catherine Banet

Nedenfor følger kopi av pressemelding publisert av Olje- og Energidepartementet den 28.10.2011. " Regjeringen har i dag fremmet Prop 4 S (2011-2012) og Prop 5 S (2011-2012) om innhenting av Stortingets samtykke til henholdsvis innlemmelse av fornybardirektivet (2009/28/EF) i EØS-avtalen og til inngåelse av avtale mellom Kongeriket Norges regjering og Kongerikets Sveriges regjering om et felles marked for elsertifikater av 29. juni 2011. - Når vi nå oversender disse to samtykkeproposisjonene til Stortinget, er vi enda et skritt nærmere oppstart av elsertifikatmarkedet 1.januar 2012, sier olje- og energiminister Ola Borten Moe. EUs fornybardirektiv har som mål å etablere et felles rammeverk for å fremme bruk av energi fra fornybare energikilder i EU-landene. Hvert medlemsland skal bidra ved å oppfylle separate mål for andel fornybar energi av totalt energibruk innen 2020 slik at det bidrar til det over¬ordnede EU-målet om en 20 prosent fornybarandel i 2020. Det er ...

The energy ministers of Norway and the UK signed today, 25 October 2011 , a " Joint Ministerial Statement on Climate Change and Energy Security " (doc. available HERE ). The document, as indicated by its title, is not legally binding , but is a political signal by the means of a joint agreemet to cooperate further on a series of energy issues of common interest for the two countries . It also reflects the desire to develop a common vision for energy activities in the North Sea ("One North Sea"). Interestingly, the issues of the exploitation of fossil and renewable energy sources are put together in the same document. The two agenda of securing a safe but continued petroleum production and promoting low carbon consumption and generation are to be conducted in parallel, and to a certain extent in coordination. On the last point, the next meeting of the UK-Norway High Level Officials' Dialogue will take place in London first half of 2012. Bilateral stat...

The  Commission notice on best practices for the conduct of proceedings concerning Articles 101 and 102 TFEU was published in the Official Journal on 20 October 2011 (available HERE ). As stated in the first part of the Notice, the purpose is to provide practical guidance on the conduct of proceedings before the Commission. The Notice consequently contributes to more transparenct in the procedure for enforcement of the Treaty's antitrust provisions, and is to read together with the provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 , and Commission Regulation No. 773/2004 relating to the conduct of proceedings by the Commission pursuant to the former Articles 81 and 82 EC Treaty (Implementing Regulation). The Notice also reflects the case law of the Court. The Notice does not cover proceedings before national competition authorities when they apply the provisions. It does not deal in detail with specific procedures (e.g., imposing sanctions or fines when misleading inform...