Law no. 23/2014 for approving Government Emergency Ordinance no. 57/2013 concerning the amendment  and supplementation of Law no. 220/2008 for establishing the system of promotion of production of  electricity from renewable energy sources was published in the Official Gazette of Romania no. 184  of March 14, 2014.

The law approving GEO no. 57/2013 introduces a series of amendments and clarifications regarding  the application of the initial version of the ordinance, as follows:

  • Retrofitted hydroelectric power plant  will also include  the hydroelectric unit  newly installed  in  a preexisting hydroelectric power plant or in a hydro-technical facility previously used for  energy related purposes.
  • The green certificate postponement only applies in the case of electricity producers accredited  up to December 31, 2013, and does not affect producers accredited as of January 1, 2014. The green  certificate postponement measure refers to their trading, and not to their granting as set forth by  the initial text of GEO no. 57/2013.
  • For the period between 2015 – 2020, the annual compulsory quota of electricity produced from  renewable energy sources which benefit from the system of promotion through green certificates,  will be established on annual basis and will be approved by Government decision, at the proposal of  the Department of Energy, within 60 days as of its communications by the National Energy Regulatory  Authority (ANRE). ANRE monitors on an annual basis the electricity quotas achieved and, based on  the level of accomplishment of the national objective and on the impact on the end consumer,  estimates, publishes on its website and informs the Government by June 30th of the current year on  the level of the compulsory quota of electricity from renewable sources which benefits from green  certificates for the following year.
  • The postponed green certificates will be recovered starting with April 1, 2017 for hydroelectric  power plants and solar power plants, respectively starting with January 1, 2018 for wind power  plants, phased up to December 30, 2020 at the most.
  • As concerns the validity term of green certificates, it is lowered from 16 months to 12 months,  starting with the date of their issuance by the Transport and System Operator.
  • In the case  of  power  plants  established with  investment  aid,  the  measure of postponing   green certificates from trading is applied so that the resulting number of green certificates is  not below one. The green certificate postponement measure will not be applicable if, under the  decision of accreditation of power plants established with investment aid, a number of green  certificates below one resulted.
  • In compliance with the incidental European regulations, a percentage from the quantity of  electricity delivered to end consumers is exempted from the application of the provisions referring  to the annual compulsory quota of green certificates. The conditions for qualifying for the  exemption mechanism, as well as the exempted quantity, conditioned by the application of the annual  programs for increasing energy efficiency, will be approved by the decision of the Government, upon  their notification to the European Commission and upon obtaining an authorized decision therefrom.
  • Producers of electricity from renewable sources who hold power units/plants which benefit from  the system of promotion, with an installed power of no more than 1 MW (2 MW in the case of  producers for high-efficiency  cogeneration  based  on  biomass)  may  conclude  bilateral   agreements  for  the sale/purchase of electricity and green certificates negotiated directly only with the suppliers of end consumers.

Order no. 14/2014 issued by ANRE concerning the update of limit values for trading green  certificates and of the equivalent value of a green certificate not purchased, applicable for 2014,  was published in the Official Gazette of Romania no. 169, Part I of March 10, 2014.

The limit values for trading green certificates on the green certificate market for 2014 are the  following:

  • minimum value of RON 130.69/green certificate (respectively EUR 29.280/green certificate);
  • minimum value of RON 266.22/green certificate (respectively EUR 59.647/green certificate).

The equivalent value of the green certificate not purchased by economic operators who have the  annual obligation of purchasing green certificates, in the event of failing to reach the compulsory  quota of green certificates for 2014, is RON 532.44/green certificate not purchased (respectively  EUR 119.293/green certificate not purchased).