Contents
- Act of 1 December 2011 amending the Gas Act (implementation of
a regulation concerning the security of gas supply)
- Legislative proposal for renewable energy surcharge
- Subsidy scheme (SDE+) Renewable energy production
- Green deals
- STROOM legislative agenda
- Energy Roadmap 2050
Act of 1 December 2011 amending the Gas Act (implementation of a regulation concerning the security of gas supply)
This act implements the EU regulation no. 994/2010 to safeguard
the supply of gas in the Gas Act. The aim of the regulation is to
further safeguard the security of gas supply in the EU and replaces
directive 2004/67/EU. The regulation introduces measures to ensure
that all member states and parties in the gas market take advance
action to prevent potential disruptions to the gas supply and,
should a disruption occur, to obviate the effects of this as
effectively as possible.
Although regulations have direct effect, this regulation contains a
couple of elements that make it necessary to amend the Gas Act on a
few points, such as the appointment of a national authorised body
to ensure security of gas supply (the Minister of Economic Affairs,
Agriculture and Innovation) and laying down rules for supervising
observance and enforcement of the regulation (by the Netherlands
Competition Authority). The Act came into force on 10 December
2011.
Legislative proposal for renewable energy surcharge
This legislative proposal provides for the introduction of a new levy: the renewable energy surcharge. The renewable energy surcharge is in the form of a new taxation on electricity and natural gas. This levy is alongside the existing energy tax. The SDE+ will be financed from this new levy from 2013.
Subsidy scheme (SDE+) Renewable energy production
The SDE+ subsidy for 2012 starts with a lower base rate than in
2011. This has been decided because the vast majority of subsidy
requests in 2011 were under the base rate. In 2012, the production
of renewable heat has been added to the activities eligible for a
grant, the subsidy for onshore wind energy has been differentiated
according to wind speed, and own consumption of self-generated
energy has been stimulated.
The start of the SDE+ scheme has been postponed. It is now
expected that the first phase of SDE+ 2012 will start on 13 March
2012.
Green deals
The Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation has announced the 'green deals' that have been concluded. Through green deals, the Dutch government helps citizens, companies, organisations and other authorities with sustainability initiatives that would otherwise be difficult to get off the ground. Examples are projects for energy insulation or managing water more sustainably. Measures that have been agreed with respect to green deals include:
- Coal-fired power stations will voluntarily co-fire 10% biomass
in anticipation of the possible introduction of a suppliers'
obligation that obliges energy suppliers that a certain percentage
of their energy supply is sustainably produced in the
Netherlands.
- A maximum of 2% can be saved for Green Certificates that will
count under the suppliers' obligation that will apply from
2015;
- Associations of owner-occupiers will also be able to make use
of the netting arrangement with regard to solar energy. The
Electricity Act will be amended correspondingly;
- Agreements on 'green' gas, electrical transportation,
smart meters, on- and offshore wind energy, CCS, energy-saving,
etc.
New green deals can registered up to 29 February 2012.
STROOM legislative agenda
The Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation has informed Parliament about the legislation announced in the 2011 Energy Report. This legislative agenda, which goes under the name of STROOM, consists of four components:
- The principal component is a general revision of the
Electricity Act and the Gas Act. The aim of this is to arrive at
Electricity and Gas Acts that adhere to the chain process and are
divided into thematic chapters, which will make them easy to amend.
The layout should more closely match the themes and division of
chapters in the EU directives. The terms used should also match
definitions in European legislation as much as possible. The
objective is also to simplify, clarify and reduce the number of
rules. It is expected that a legislative proposal can be presented
to Parliament at the end of 2012.
- A legislative proposal regarding the minority privatization of
TenneT and Gasunie, including the necessary safeguards. The
legislative programme is the responsibility of the Ministry of
Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation while the final sale
will be in the hands of the Ministry of Finance. The Minister of
Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation intends to present the
legislative proposal in the middle of 2012;
- The obligation to co-fire biomass in coal-fired power stations,
as a supplement to the SDE+. As part of the green deal, agreement
has been reached with energy companies to continue to co-fire
biomass in their coal-fired power stations in the coming years at
the present level of approximately 10%. At the moment,
investigations are being carried out to establish whether
supplementary regulations and legislation will be needed. Any
legislation will be presented as a separate legislative proposal.
The Minister expects to be able to inform Parliament in more detail
in the spring of 2012.
- A legislative proposal consisting of a series of associated
measures derived from the 2011 Energy Report in order to eliminate
bottlenecks regarding such things as gas quality and netting
renewable energy. This legislative proposal will also make
recommendations to net investments with respect to security of
supply and facilitate the integration of sustainable energy more
effectively. The Minister hopes to present this legislative
proposal in the middle of 2012.
The legislative agenda is restricted to legislation derived from the 2011 Energy Report. The minister expects that other legislative proposals will be submitted in addition to these recommendations, particularly in relation to the green deals recently concluded and to the implementation of European rules and legislation.
Energy Roadmap 2050
In order to achieve a reduction in CO2 emissions of more than 80% by 2050, energy production in Europe must become nearly carbon-free. This Roadmap, published by the European Commission on 15 December 2011, uses a series of scenarios to describe the consequences of a carbon-free energy system and the policy framework needed. The Energy Roadmap 2050 indicates a number of elements that will have a positive effect in all circumstances and which will therefore produce a number of important results, such as:
- Decarbonisation of the energy system is technically and
economically feasible;
- Energy-efficiency and renewable energy are of crucial
importance;
- Early investment costs less;
- Controlling price-rises;
- Advantages of scale are needed.
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