Sustainable Energy Law Notebook

Several Norwegian representative organisations were in Brussels, Belgium, on 31 January 2012 to lobby the EU institutions , asking them to withdraw the proposal for regulation on safety of offshore oil and gas prospection, exploration and production activities ( COM(2011)0688 ). The legislative proposal was put forward on 27 October 2011. The Norwegian organisations oppose the regulatory approach put forward by the European Commission. This news will be rapidly commented on this blog. References : Aftenbladet newspaper, "Olje-Norge til Brussel med EU-protest" , 31 January 2012. The Norwegian Oil Industry Association (OLF), "Felles front mot EU-forslag" , 31 January 2012

The European Commission published on 27 January 2012 a study on the licensing and permitting procedures for shale gas project . One of the central conclusions of the report is that, based on the study of four Member States (France, Germany, Poland and Sweden), there is " no significant gaps in coverage in the  current EU legislative framework, at least for regulating the current level of shale gas activities ." The Report on unconventional gas in Europe is available here .

For the first time this Spring, I will start teaching International and European Energy Law at the University of Reykjavik, Iceland . I look forward to this new challenge at a new university, and to being responsible for the whole course, expect of course Icelandic energy law, which will be taught by Kristin Haraldsdottir, Director of the Institute. For more information, check the website of the Institute of Natural Resources Law of the University of Reykjavik. For all the registered Master students, welcome to the course!

This is the question raised in a report released on 10 January 2012: "A Sea of Opportunities" ( Et hav av Muligheter ) (accessible here ). The answered given in the report is clear and is stated on the first page:  " Norway should invest more in offshore wind ."  The benefits are multiple. Offshore wind contributes to the reduction of GHG emissions, will play a central role in tomorrow's low carbon European economies, represents an economic opportunity for Norway and an added value building on the strong expertise gained by the country in the oil and gas sector. Central in the report is the vision of offshore wind as an important industry for Norway in the future. The offshore wind industry will enable job creation and expand the high value expertise of the offshore industry. The report supports the establishment of a strong offshore wind industry, as well as it points out the weaknesses of today's national policy.  The report recommends that N...

The European Court of Justice delivered on 17 January 2012 an important judgment related to the issue of jurisdiction and workers' social coverage in the offshore petroleum sector . In case C-347/10 Salemink , the Court had to assess the application of the national compulsory sickness insurance scheme to persons working in a drilling platform on an adjacent part to the Netherlands' continental shelf , where the employer was established in the Netherlands but the employee, although a citizen from the Netherlands, was established in another Member State (Spain). The judgement is accessible here and will be commented on this blog.  

Published on the Official Journal of the European Union today (OJ L 14 of 17.01.2012, p.1):  Commission Decision of 29 June 2011 on State aid granted by France to the Institut Français du Pétrole (Case C 35/08 (ex NN 11/08))  (notified under document C(2011) 4483). I will comment the decision on this blog in the coming days.

For å unngå forskjellige tolkninger samt juridisk hull må man av og til presisere ordlyden i regelverket. Det er det Norges vassdrags- og energidirektorat (NVE) har nå gjort dispensajon fra AMS-kravet. NVE har 16. januar 2012 presisert tolkningen av Forskrift om måling, avregning og sarordnet opptreden ved kraftomsetning og fakturering av nettjenester  (Avregningsforskriften) knyttet til adgang til å gi dispensajon til nettselskapene fra krav til å installere avansert måle- og styringssystem (AMS) . Klargjøringen skjer ved en endring til Avregningsforskriften. Formålet med endringen er å klargjøre at direktoratet kan gi dispensasjon fra installasjon av AMS allerede fra 20. januar 2012 .  Endringen kommer etter at 30 nettselskaper varslet NVE at de kommer til å søke dispensasjon fra kravet, fordi de, før forskriften ble vedtatt i juni 2011, hadde gjort betydelige investeringer i målere som ikke oppfylller de nye funksjonskravene i forskriften. ...

Tomorrow starts the World Future Energy Summit (WFES 2012) , in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Check events and topics on the summit website:  http://www.worldfutureenergysummit.com   See also a good article summarising what is on the agenda of WFES 2012  here  (conference blog). More details on the summit to be posted on this blog.

The Natural Resources Law Group of the  Faculty of Law,  University of Oslo , is organising a three day-conference on the topic of the Rule of Law for Nature . It will take place in Oslo, Norway , on 9-11 May 2012 . The conference should draw attention for its necessarily broad approach to the general principles of international environmental law . In June 2012 will take place the Earth Summit 2012, back to Rio de Janeiro ( http://www.earthsummit2012.org/ ). The year 2012 will also see the celebration of many conventions' anniversary, which makes the year timely for an assessment: 40th anniversary of the adoption of the Stockholm Declaration, 30th anniversary of the UN World Charter for Nature and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, 25th anniversary of the Brundtland Report, 20th anniversary of both the Rio Declaration, Agenda 21, and the UNCED Conventions: the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity. The confe...

The Norwegian Energy Regulator (NVE) published today an overview of the treatment of electricity licenses in 2011 . See NVE website (in Norwegian) here  (" NVE konseskjonsbehandling i tall "). A short summary will be added soon on this blog.

Elsertifikatmarkedet begynte 1. januar 2012 (mandag 2. i praksis). Standardisering av avatalevilkår er alltid en viktig komponent for å sikre fluiditet på markedet. Sammenlignet med de siste green commodity markets som ble etablert de siste årene, har det skjedd det samme med de tre fleksibilitetsmekanismer under Kyotoprotokollen (kvotehandel/AAUs, felles gjennomføring/ERUs og  grønn utviklingsmekanisme/CERs). RECs International hadde også utviklet standardkontrakter for et par år siden for sertifikater underlagt RECs, en for single delivery/spot delivery, og en for several deliveries.  I forbindelse med oppstart av elsertifikatmarkedet mellom Norge og Sverige har Energi Norge  utarbeidet  to typer standardavtaler for elsertifikater : Standardavtaler for handel med opsjons- og terminkontrakter med elsertifikater . Ramme avtalen er tilgjengelig her , sammen med generelle vilkår . Standardavtaler for spothandel med elsertifikater . Tilgjengelig...

When cartoons make better summaries than words. This reflection applies, although with different consequences, to private or public ownership. Author: Mike Peters, 2008.