Renewable Energy Electricity Directive

On Wednesday 10th May the European Commission adopted a proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the promotion of electricity from renewable energy sources in the European Union's internal electricity market.

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• This proposal is a response to the Energy Council's invitation of 11 May 1999 to submit a concrete proposal for a Community framework on access of electricity from renewable energy sources to the internal market. The European Parliament has likewise in it is resolutions on electricity from renewable energy sources of 26 May 1998 and of 30 March 2000 asked for a Commission proposal in this area.
  
  
• The strategic objective of the proposal is to create a framework for the medium-term significant increase of renewable sourced electricity in the EU and to facilitate its access to the internal electricity market. This proposal will offer regulatory certainty, while at the same time respecting the principle of subsidiarity by providing for a wide degree of autonomy to each Member State to allow their particular circumstances to be taken into account.
  
  
• Promotion of electricity from renewable energy sources is a high Community priority. The 1997 White Paper on renewable energy sources highlighted the key role of renewables in terms of
  - security of supply,
  - employment and
  - the environment,
  
  
• and it suggested an indicative target of doubling the share of renewable energy sources from 6 % to 12 % in the energy balance in the EU by 2010. This objective was endorsed by the Council in 1998. As concerns in particular the environmental aspects, the increased use of electricity from renewable energy sources would also constitute an important part of the actions which will be necessary in order to meet the commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions made by the EU in Kyoto (but certainly not the only one. Other possibilities, equally important, include energy efficiency, fuel mix etc.)
  
  
• In the White paper this 12 % share of total renewable energy sources in the gross inland energy consumption has been translated into a specific share for consumption of electricity (= 22,1%) produced from renewable energy sources and it is this specific share to which the promotion of RES-E must contribute.

1. THE PRINCIPLES OF THE PROPOSAL

1.1. National Targets for RES-E

• The proposal obliges Member States to establish individual targets for future consumption of electricity from renewable energy sources ('RES-E')
  
  
• The proposal refers in the recitals as well as in its Article 3 to an annex containing quantitative indications for the targets to be chosen by individual Member States with a view to assuring that the Community objective of 12 % RES penetration as well as Community and national climate change commitments are achieved by 2010.
  
  
• The proposal stipulates that the Commission monitors the compliance of the national targets with the global Community objective of 12 %, the specific objective for consumption of RES-E and the Community climate change commitments. In that context, the Commission will have an obligation to propose amendments to the national objectives if they are inconsistent with the Community objectives.
  

1.2. Support systems for RES-E

• The proposal abstains from proposing a harmonised Community wide support system for electricity from renewable energy sources. However, the proposal obliges the Commission to make if necessary a proposal for such a harmonised support system within 5 years, taking into account the experiences gained in Member States with the operation of the different national support systems. This will be done on the basis of a Commission report assessing the various support systems in favour of electricity production from renewable as well as conventional energy sources.
  
  
• The proposal confirms the application of the State aid rules of the Treaty, to prevent overcompensation of particular producers of green electricity to an extent contrary to the Community interest.
  

1.3. Other technical issues to promote RES-E

As concerns technical issues, the approach supported by the Commission in the past will be maintained. The proposal obliges Member States to

• assure priority access for RES-E
  
• to assure that certification of RES-E is both accurate and reliable;
  
• to streamline and expedite authorisation procedures applicable to installation of generation plants for green electricity.
  
• Also, Member States will have to assure that the calculation of costs of connecting new producers of RES-E should be transparent and non-discriminatory.