Sustainable Energy Law Notebook

The chapter reviews the use of local content requirements (LCRs) in the Norwegian oil and gas legislation . Looking at the evolution of the regulation of LCRs over time and structured around two main phases , it identifies some best practice in terms of sustainability. In the primary phase of the development of the Norwegian petroleum sector (1970s to mid-1990s), the national legislation included explicit LCRs. The chapter provides a categorisation of the different forms of LCRs practised at that time under Norwegian law. In the second phase, the use of LCRs has been constrained by the obligations deriving from the entry into force of the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement in 1994 (including the Licensing Directive 94/22/EC and internal market rules), and the application of the relevant WTO Agreements after Norway joined the WTO in 1995 (TRIMs agreement, GATS). Norway has also entered into a series of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) which can restrain the country’s ability to...

This new edited volume by A. Wawryk, H. Trischmann, C. Banet, E. Pereira and K. Hall has just been published: " The Regulation of Decommissining, Abandament and Reuse Initiatives in the Oil and Gas Industry: From Obligation to Opportunities " (Wolters Kluwer, August 2020) Overview The book gives a comprehensive description and critique of the key issues that must be addressed by nations, and of the current international, regional, and national law and policy in this field. With thousands of offshore oil and gas platforms in place across the globe, the decommissioning of these ageing installations is becoming of increasing concern to regulators, industry and other stakeholders in the marine environment. This book elucidates current initiatives aimed at maximising reuse and repurposing opportunities, such as wind power, hydrogen, carbon capture, and storage by analysing the relevant law and practices of selected oil- and gas-producing nations. Capitalising on the good decommiss...

In the years to come, electricity consumers will face increased grid costs associated with their consumption due to the need for investments in grid infrastructures. Both aging infrastructures and new production/consumption patterns relying increasingly on distributed and alternative sources will require economic investments by grid operators, which, in fine, will transfer the costs to final customers.  The existing models of remuneration for operators and of costs allocation for consumers need to be updated. A reflection has started in several jurisdictions to address the need for revising grid tariff structure(s) in order to ensure a ‘fair’ share of costs between distribution system operators and electricity consumers, as well as to develop the right incentives through tariff regulation . This book chapter reviews theory and practice of grid tariff regulatory reforms in the context of the current energy transition. It discusses how distributive energy justice can be better inte...

On 12 May 2020, the European Commission has announced having approved the financial compensation envisaged by the government of the Netherlands in favour of the early closure of the Hemweg coal fired power plant . The compensation of EUR52.5 million has been deemed to be in line with the EU state aid rules , as the closure will contribute to reducing CO 2 emissions and there will not be undue distortion of competition in the EU single market, according to the Commission.  The full non-confidential version of the Commission decision is not yet available, by the related press release (IP/20/863) gives some interesting elements of the reasoning of the Commission. 

The European Commission has adopted today, 4 March 2020, a proposal for a regulation establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality , also called European Climate Law . The proposal for a Regulation is available at the following address: https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/commission-proposal-regulation-european-climate-law-march-2020_en.pdf A short commentary will soon be available.

The topic of this weekly podcast by Montel News is "On the road to climate neutrality" . I answered some questions on what is on the EU climate and energy agenda. Listen to the full podcast here: http://podcast.montelnews.com/257968/2859160-on-the-road-to-climate-neutrality Summary Ahead of the EC publication of its Climate Law next week, this week’s pod discusses the implications for Europe’s energy sector. Listen to a discussion on carbon border taxes, sector coupling, ETS reform and decarbonising gas. Host:  Richard Sverrisson, Editor-in-Chief Europe, Montel.  Guest:  Catherine Banet, Associate Professor in Energy Law, University of Oslo.  Produced by Anna Siwecka.

The XIIIth edition of the European Energy Law Report , edited by Martha M. Roggenkamp and Catherine Banet, has been published in January 2020 by Intersentia. The European Energy Law Reports are an initiative taken by the organisers of the European Energy Law Seminar which has been organised on an annual basis since 1989. The seminar is now taking place in January each year in The Hague. This volume includes chapters on "Newcomers in the Electricity Market: Aggregators and Storage", "Hydropower Concessions in the EU: A Need for Liberalisation or Privatisation?", "Investments and des-Investments in the Energy Sector", "Offshore Decommissioning in the North Sea", "CCS as a Climate Tool: North Sea Practice" and "From EU Climate Goals to National Climate Laws". Book website: https://intersentia.com/en/european-energy-law-report-xiii.html ISBN 9781780689500

Waiting for the announcement on 11 December 2019 of the concrete measures that the European Green Deal will cover, the European Commission has published on its website a list of policy areas which will be concerned. With the announced objective of "becoming the world's first climate-neutral continent" , the following areas of action will apparently be prioritised: adoption of a European climate law: it will set in law climate reduction targets in order for the EU to become climate-neutral by 2050; extension of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme to air transport and shipping; a "climate pact" which could relate to the development of carbon removal solutions (natural or technology-based) and the further development of "clean" energy sources; a mechanism of Carbon Border Tax; promoting circular economy approach and biodiversity; a just and socially fair transition; a necessary revision of related energy legislation to Ensure the...

Did you miss our seminar in Oslo on 14 November 2019 on the legal aspects of carbon capture and Storage (CCS) deployment? You can now watch it on line on Youtube  HERE . Topic : « Climate emergency & legal response: the role of law in CCS deployment. Regulatory incentives to enable carbon capture and storage (CCS) in Norway and Europe.»

There has been an important update on the issue of transboundary transport of CO 2 for the purpose of permanent storage , as covered by the London Protocol's export amendment (2009 amendment to Art 6). This is of primarly importance for the realisation of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects which include the international transport of CO 2 .

The last pieces of legislation of the Clean Energy for All Europeans Package have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union of 14 June 2019. Those acts cover electricity market design, risk-preparedness and the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER): Directive (EU) 2019/944 of 5 June 2019 on common rules for the internal market for electricity and amending Directive 2012/27/EU Regulation (EU) 2019/941 of 5 June 2019 on risk-preparedness in the electricity sector and repealing Directive 2005/89/EC Regulation (EU) 2019/942 of 5 June 2019 establishing a European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators Regulation (EU) 2019/943 of 5 June 2019 on the internal market for electricity .

Join us on 4 April 2019 in Oslo for a seminar on Electricity Market Design: "Electricity Networks and their operators in a time of change" . About the seminar: Changing patterns in electricity generation and consumption raise tremendous challenges for transport and distribution infrastructures and their operators. The electricity networks remain the backbone of the electricity system, but are going through important adaptations. Not least, grid operators will need to increase cooperation, while they also may become competitors in supplying grid services and making use of flexibility. The evolution of electricity networks and their o perators is among the central issues in current electricity market reforms.

On 15 January 2015, the Norwegian government has awarded the first exploitation permit for CO2 injection and storage on the Norwegian Continental Shelf to Equinor. The award follows the announcement made in July 2018 and concerns an area located near the Troill oil and gas Field in the North Sea. Equinor is working together with Shell and Total as part of the Northern Lights Project. They were the only applicants. News release from the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy: https://www.regjeringen.no/no/aktuelt/exploitation-permit-for-co2-storage-on-the-norwegian-continental-shelf/id2625189/  News release from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate: http://www.npd.no/en/news/News/2019/Award-of-exploitation-permit-for-CO2-storage/ 

The European Commission has announced on 7 January 2019 that it intends to prolong the current EU state aid rules for two years, until end of 2022 . Those rules, which were part of the reform on State Aid Modernisation (SAM) , were supposed to expire end of 2020. Other state aid rules have no fixed expiry date. The rules part of the SAM-reform are rules which are typically updated on a regular basis subject to a revision process which, in the present case, is starting this Spring. The whole revision process will advance in several steps . First , the following State aid rules will be prolonged until 2022: General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) De minimis Regulation Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy (EEAG) Guidelines on regional State aid Guidelines on State aid to promote risk Finance Investments Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring Communication on important Projects of common European interest (IPCEI)...

The XIIth edition of the European Energy Law Report is now available! Reference : European Energy Law Report XII, M. Roggenkamp and C. Banet (eds.) , Intersentia, Nov. 2018 ISBN 9781780686721 Description : This volume includes Chapters on Developments in EU Energy Law , Renewable Energy: Cross-border Projects and Dispute Settlement , Capacity Reserve Mechanism , Prosumers , and New Developments in the European Gas Market . Publisher's website : https://intersentia.com/en/european-energy-law-report-xii.html  

FMEen CREE - Oslo Centre for Research on Environmentally friendly Energy , og Forskergruppen for naturressursrett ved Universitet i Oslo, det juridiske fakultet , inviterer til seminar om kapasitetsmekanismer. Tid : torsdag 7. juni 2018, kl. 12-15 Sted : Det juridiske fakultet, Domus Media, "Kjerka"-møterommet. Påmelding : http://www.cree.uio.no/outreach/events/seminar/2018/seminar_juss_kapasitetsmekanismer_v2018.html  

Just published! Book chapter on: C. Banet, "Techno-nationalism in the Context of Energy Transition: Regulating Technology Innovation Transfer in Offshore Wind Technologies." Summary: In the context of economic recovery and energy transition, techno-nationalist measures within clean energy technologies have been flourishing for the past decade. These measures may find justification grounds in local development needs and environmental concerns, but, as this chapter demonstrates, the margin of appreciation left to WTO parties is very limited. Such measures will rarely pass the test of the different WTO Agreements to qualify for an exception. On the other hand, the pressing need to access clean energy technologies has resulted in several multilateral initiatives inspired by a more techno-globalist thinking under the WTO and UNFCCC regimes. This Chapter reviews these initiatives and takes offshore wind technologies as case study, as it is one of t...

The Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law , University of Oslo, and the South African Research Chair on Mineral Law in Africa (MLiA) , University of Cape Town, invite you to an evening seminar series on "The Key Tenets of Mineral Resource Regulation" on 3, 4 and 5 April 2018 (4-7 pm). ABOUT THE SEMINAR The transition to renewable energy around the globe, as well as technological advancements in energy storage batteries, the automobile and other industries, is escalating the demand for rare earth metals and minerals. As a result, the face of mining is changing, testing the boundaries of existing legislation. In the wake of this upcoming new gold rush, it is imperative that legal frameworks are in place to ensure that all stakeholders obtain maximum benefits and protection from these increased extractive activities, and that common interests and values are properly managed and preserved.

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of presenting my views on forthcoming legal challenges and opportunities for the energy sector when relying on blockchain technologies . The occasion was a training seminar organised by Energy Norway . Among the questions I raised were: Do we need a new legal framework, an adapted financial framework or just amended definitions in energy legislation for enabling blockhain transactions in that sector? Which place for prosumers and energy communities which will trade without intermediaries? Will blockchain help maximising the green value of electricity? How will that impact grid investments, DSOs' role and suppliers' role? Which tasks will control organs supervise? Will - as often - the industry take the lead in harmonising practices before the legislator reacts?  OR is this just hype? More to come from me in a forthcoming publication on the topic.

The University of Cape Town , South Africa and the University of Oslo , Faculty of Law, Norway, are pleased to present a two-day training course .   Electricity market design underpins the functioning of power systems. With changing generation and consumption patterns, there is an urgent need to re-think electricity market design and implement reforms. The objective of this course is to explore the fundamentals of electricity market design, the challenges faced by the current power systems and the legal mechanisms available to re-design the electricity market.   Acknowledging that there is not one-size-fits-it-all approach to electricity market design and that the reasons for changes may differ between coun­tries, the course will start with the theoretical fundamentals , and then ex­plore the available mechanisms for re-designing electricity markets at the physical and financial levels. References will be made to national legal frameworks (South A...