Sustainable Energy Law Notebook

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.