Green certificates discarded for sun power producers if host land still for agricultural purpose
Romania's sun power producers will lose their certification and no longer receive green certificates, unless they produce proof that the land hosting the sun panels is not for agricultural purpose, and do so by January 15, 2014, according to an order of the chairman of the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) published in the Official Journal.
The order spells out what certification documents are required, mentioning that such documentation should include 'proof that the land hosting the sun power plants are not registered for agricultural purpose as of December 31, 2013.'
Moreover, the already certified operators and producers will also be left without green certificates if the land they use to host the facility is still registered for agricultural purpose as of December 31.
If the certified business operators fail to fulfill this obligation, 'the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) shall order a halt on the applicability of the decisions regarding the application of the promotional system for the green certificates as from January 1, 2014.'
At the same time, the order mentions that the certification of the energy producers owning green certificates shall be performed only up to when the established installed capabilities become full for each calendar year, under a decision of the Government, based on updated data in the National renewable energy action plan.
In other words, certification will no longer apply to an indefinite number of projects, as used to be the case so far, but it will be limited to so many projects as Romania might need to reach its energy target in a given year. When the full capacity is reached, ANRE will stop the certification process and those left without green certificates may get their names on a waiting list.
The resumption of the certification process will be performed on a first come first served basis, provided that the conditions in the certification regulation are met, up until the new values in the National renewable energy action plan are reached, as established under Government's decisions.