Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 1 Direct methods for supporting renewable energies
Regulated price
Regulated quantities
Based on investment
Investment subsidies
Tax credits
Auctions
Based on production
Tariff/Premiums
Quota system and green certi
cates
According to the information gathered by the Council of European Energy
Regulators (CEER) for its report of June 2013,
16
the majority system in the
European Union is based on feed-in tariffs or feed-in premiums. Under this sup-
porting framework, generators of electricity from renewable sources are entitled to
sell all of their output. They do so at prices that are either fully decided (total
regulated tariff) or only partially decided by law (regulated premium or incentive
added to the price per kWh in the electricity market).
Another supporting framework that widely used in Europe is the quota and green
certi
cates system, which has been running with variations in some EU countries
for several years (e.g. Italy, Belgium, UK). It is essentially based on legally obliging
electricity consumers, suppliers or generators, depending on the case, to obtain a
particular percentage or quota (which generally increases over time) of their elec-
tricity supply or output from renewable energy sources. At the end of each con-
secutive period under consideration (usually a year), the parties bound by the quota
must prove their compliance by submitting to the relevant National Regulatory
Authority a number of green certi
cates equivalent to the quota speci
ed. One
green certi
cate is usually equivalent to one MWh of renewable energy.
Lastly, another supporting system that has been implemented to a certain degree,
notably in France and Portugal, is based on an auction system. In this case,
developers are invited to submit bids for a limited quantity of power or energy in a
given period. The companies that offer the supply at the lowest cost are awarded
long-term contracts, generally for a period of between 15 and 20 years.
The 2001 Directive was amended and replaced by the Renewable Energies
Directive [
6
] 2009/28/EC, which has been consolidated as the basic regulatory
framework for promoting renewable energies in Europe. It sets compulsory national
targets that are consistent with achieving the European target of having renewable
account for 20 % of
nal energy consumption in the EU by the year 2020 and 10 %
in the case of the transport sector. This Directive has introduced elements designed
to simplify the administrative regimes applicable to renewable and regulatory
improvements that facilitate access by electricity systems to electricity generated
from such sources. It also provides for an overall sustainability system for biofuels
and bioliquids, with obligations as regards monitoring and information.
Apart from these basic elements, the Renewables Directive, as it is known,
maintains countries
'
freedom to de
ne their own supporting frameworks.
16
CEER [
3
]
“
Status Review of Renewable and Energy Ef
ciency Support Schemes in Europe
”
.
25 June 2013.
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