Sustainable Energy Law Notebook

17.5 million is the number of green certificates cancelled in Sweden by 1 April 2011 for the year 2010 , has announced the Swedish Energy Authority. Under the regime of the so-called "elcertificates" ( elcertifikatsystemet ) 18 TWh new renewable electricity production and 350 new production facilities came on line this year . The system started in 2003, and since that date the electricity generation based on renewable energy sources has increased by 11.5 TWh (for an objective of 25TWh by 2020 ). Among the renewable energy sources that top production in 2010 are: biofuels , which generated 12 TWh in 2010; wind energy (300 of the new 350 plants), for a total production of 3.5 TWh; hydropower , for 2.6 TWh. Almost all the quota obligated parties complied by purchasing certificates . Reference : Energimyndigheten website .

The Norwegian government has formally adopted its proposal for a law on a green certificates scheme today, 15 April 2011. The text of the law proposal is available HERE . The press release from the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy is available HERE .

The current debate on shale gas that animates French politicians have resulting in a broader initiative to reform the Mining Code . The Minister for Ecology, Mrs. Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, has confirmed on 13 April during the Parliamentary session of the National Assembly (records here ) that the government has started procedure for the reform of the Code . The weak consultation aspects of the permitting procedure is in particular problematic. The proposal should therefore result in the inclusion of a real public consultation procedure already at the stage of the exploration permit . In parallel, a law proposal by the member of the parliament Christian Jacob for the prohibition of shale gas and oil exploitation properly will be discussed on 10 May . The answer given by the French prime Minister , Francois Fillon, during the same session and few weeks before the discussion of the law proposal clarifies the position of the government: "... il est légitime que notre pays con...

The European Commission has published today its proposal for a review of Directive 2003/96/EC restructuring the Community framework for the taxation of energy products and electricity ( Energy Taxation Directive ). Here are: the text of the proposal , the press release and the MEMO For background information , see previous POST on that blog. An analysis of the new proposal will be posted soon .

The EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) concluded today, based on the report of an independent expert, that the lease agreement between the municipality of Skedsmo and Akershus Energi Varme AS doest not entail elements of state aid . The lease agreement concerns the Akershus Energipark, an innovation project which includes the construction of a solar collector plant (30.000 m2) on the park area. The lease agreement was concluded on 3 December 2009 for a duration of at least 10 years . The independent expert concluded that the value of the agreed rent corresponded to the market value , which entails that the municipality did not forego income by renting out the park area below market value. The private investor test is consequently passed, there is no involvement of state resources in the meaning of Article 61.1 EEA Agreement, and consequently no state aid. Reference : Press release , ESA, 13.04.2011.

The International Year of Sustainable Energy for All has been officially announced on 7 April 2011 ( press release , UNIDO ). The International Year is 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. This initiative builds on the fact that 1.4 billion people are still lacking access to energy, and electricity in particular, and that access to energy and energy services is too often based on poll...

The European Commission has just decided to send reasoned opinions to three Member States - Italy, Poland and Romania - for breach of the rules on end-user price regulation . It follows from the rules on the internal energy market and the case law of the Court (See Federutility judgment, Case C-265/08), that retail prices must be subject as a general rule to competition , by confrontation of supply and demand. Regulated prices must remain the exception . References : Press release, European Commission, IP/11/414 .

EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) has approved today a state aid in favour of a wind power production project to Midtfjellet Vindkraft AS . The amount of the aid is of NOK 346.5 million (nearly EUR 44.5 million) , focusing on the coverage of the investment costs of the project . The aid was notified to ESA in February 2011 , and submitted to a detailed assessment under the State aid Guidelines for environmental protection . In its press release , ESA justifies its positive assessement in the following standard terms: "... the Authority has found that the positive effect of increasing renewbale energy production outweighs the limited effect of the aid on competition. The aid is proportional as it is limited to the aid necessary to trigger investments in the wind park. The aid also provides an incentive effect since the project would not be commercially viable without the aid. Finally, the market power of Midtfjellet Vindkraft AS is less than 1% and hence the structure of the mar...

On 30 March 2011, President Obama hold a speech on energy policy at the Georgetown University in Washington . The speech gives a glimpse over the priorities of its 2012 campaign in the energy fields, few days after he announced his candidacy to re-election. Below follow some quotes. A short assessment The speech is inscribed in the continuity of his previous initiatives (e.g., the Clean Energy Standard ), which does not mean less ambition in terms of renewable energies, but is also pretty realistic as of the use of conventional and unconventional energy sources . While coal is curiously not really mentionned (except clean coal), nuclear energy and shale gas are part of the US energy future depicted by Obama. Oil drilling (onshore and offshore) is not either a taboo. The support to renewable energy sources seems to be endorsed, while the apparent consensus hides that much remains to be done, in particular for a competitive and environmentally friendly use of renewables. The con...

The European Commisison has announced that it will put forward a proposal to review Directive 2003/96/EC restructuring the Community framework for the taxation of energy products and electricity ( Energy Taxation Directive ) on 13 April 2011 . The current Directive 2003/96/EC The currently applicable directive entered into force on 1 January 2004. It sets taxation rules for energy products and electricity that are used as motor or heating fuel or electricity generation . Other uses, as raw materials or for chemical reduction, etc. are not covered. It extends the EU system of mandatory minimum rates of taxation applicable to mineral oils to coal, natural gas and electricity . The background idea is therefore to establish a level playing field between the different energy products and reduce distortions of competition . The minimum levels of taxation applicable by category are defined in the annexes to the directive . For example: natural gas for motor fuels, 2.6 EUR/gigajoule; elec...

The European Union is organising from 11 to 15 April 2011 the EU Sustainable Energy Week , sponsorising events throughout the whole Europe, plus EEA countries . To check the events where you leave , see the interactive map HERE ( http://www.eusew.eu ).