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Showing posts from December, 2011

2012: International Year of Sustainable Energy for All (United Nations)

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

EU-Regler om Tildeling av Klimakvoter Gjelder for Alle Virksomheter i perioden 2013-2020, også Petroleumsindustrien

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

RES Directive 2009/28/EC Is now Incorporated into the EEA Agreement and in Force

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 Ã¥ sikre et langsiktig samarbeid i Europa for Ã¥ fremme produksjon og bruk av fornybar energi. Direktivet etablerer et felles rammeverk og setter bindende nasjonale mÃ¥l. MÃ¥let 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 pÃ¥ rundt 8,5 prosent. I tillegg skal alle medlemslandene og Norge ha en andel pÃ¥ 10 prosent for

Nordic Energy Regulators (NordREG) Recommend Mandatory Combined Billing for End-Users

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 Energy Reg

Energy Efficiency: European Parliament to Discuss Draft Report on Proposal for a Directive

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 . 

Adoption of Regulations Implementing the Green Certificates Act in Norway (Forskrift til lov om elsertifikater)

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).

One Step Closer for the Norwegian-Swedish Joint Green Certificates Market: Formal Adoption by the Norwegian Council of State

Today, 16 December 2011 , the Norwegian Council of State (StatsrÃ¥d) 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 fornybardirektivet

The Norwegian Parliament Validates Joint Green Certificates Market with Sweden and Incorporation of RES Directive into EEA Agreement

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 inngÃ¥else 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

Norwegian Government Will Publish Atlas of CO2 Storage Sites in the North Sea

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 ."

Summary of UNFCCC COP17/CMP7 Conclusions

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 period will be 2013-

Integrity and Transparency on Wholesale Energy Markets: REMIT Regulation Published in the EU Official Journal

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 .

Elsertifikater: Statnett Sender Informasjonsskriv til Produsenter av Fornybar Kraft

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.