What Will the European Commission Decisions on Green Certificates and the New Polish RES System Mean?

On March 16, 2016, a conference on the meaning of the European Commission's new decision on Polish green certificates as state aid and the prospects for its decision on the new RES law will be held in Warsaw. Readers of this blog already know the issues and the possible consequences.

The conference will feature the leaders in the RES sector, the complainant in the case before the Commission, the Polish Government (invited), and the major utilities in Poland (invited).

THE IMPACT OF STATE AID ENFORCEMENT ON
POLISH RENEWABLE ENERGY
___________________________
An In-Depth Seminar on the Legal and Practical Problems

Facing Polish Energy

March 16, 2016  
Hilton Hotel Warsaw

The lack of notification and approval of the existing Green Certificate program has caused the European Commission to investigate its lawfulness and compatibility with the EU Treaty. See Case SA 37244. Major parts of the support system (co-firing of biomass and coal and old hydro plants) are being challenged in the Commission proceeding.  While the Commission has told the Polish Government that the old law is state aid, a published decision detailing the Commission’s findings is expected by March. This will require a new RES law to meet the objections and retroactively change the Green Certificate program in line with an earlier opinion of UOKiK and EC rules. Experts expect that certificates values will have to be adjusted by a coefficient that reflects the varying cost of production by technology. The European Commission is also reviewing the new RES law as state aid and important changes may be made. 

Seating will be limited and you can reserve a space by contacting randymott (at) ceeres.pl. Sponsorship is available for a modest amount. Admission is 400 PLN via advanced purchase. 

 The decision of the Polish Government to start and continue the Green Certificate program without notification and approval of the Commission as required by the European Treaty has created a complex situation.  Since the Commission legally enjoys sole competence to make the determination of compatibility of state aid with the competition rules of the European Community, the new decision will have immediate and direct consequences. The legality of the whole system from 2005 to date will be the subject of the decision. 

These developments will likely change the whole fabric of the renewable energy support system in Poland as well as the means for electricity providers to meet their RES quota under the Polish Energy Law. This conference is the only one scheduled that will involve the principals of the case before the Commission.

UPDATE:  There is a real shortage of organizations and people who want to discuss these issues. Due to lack of sponsors and reluctance of folks to even agree to discuss the topics, this event has to be cancelled. I am, however, able to discuss the issues and review what the decision means with individual clients willing to retain me for this purpose.  The consequences of the EC action will be sweeping and complex.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  TWITTER LINKS FOR THREADS OF RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE (UPDATED November 2023) NOTE: IF thread does not open automatically, copy link and paste to open Not Our war?    Ukraine aid is not major budget issue No one is making Ukrainians fight "Mighty Russia"? The Two Armies The war is not an unbreakable stalemate The United States does not provide proportionally more aid  Things Some Republicans Get Wrong The MAGA disconnect Russia is Losing Badly Bogus Tucker Carlson claims You have been lied to Debunk of bioweapons claim Zelensky thread Aid auditing & control UKR weapons inspections & tracking   Ukraine Nazi rebuttal WEF thread   RM propaganda thread   Fake war
Read more
Image
                     CAN REPUBLICANS ENDURE THE COST OF  NOT  SU PPORTING UKRAINE?                                                                         Randy M. Mott [i] Originally written in October 2022      At this point in time, the Ukrainian army is humiliating Putin’s army and dramatically reversing his invasion. Displaying incredible courage and at the same time patience, the Ukrainian soldiers have quickly learned mastery over NATO and especially American weapons that have made the difference on the battlefield. Long-range precision artillery and rocket fire have offset the Russian advantage in the number of guns, then have overwhelmed their command-and-control centers, ammo dumps and now troop concentrati...
Read more

Hitting Reality: Polish Energy Policy Meets the Facts

Image
     At some point, facts matter. In the end, reality has a way of asserting itself. Senator Everett Dirksen (for whom a US Senate office building is now named) was asked on one election night to comment on his early lead in the voting. He told the story of two Irishmen working on a fifteen story building. O'Malley falls off the top floor and his colleague O'Reilly starts running down the stairwell to try to help him. O'Reilly sticks his head out and yells to O'Malley, "how is it going?" O'Malley says "so far, so good...." as his sails to the ground below.     Many political myths employed by politicians in Poland on national energy policy are about to hit the ground as well . Because the Economic Summit is in Katowice this week, we will hear all about the importance of coal to Poland. An historical fact, for sure. But a ever-diminishing premise at this point. Less Polish coal is mined every year. Polish coal costs more to mine and is of po...
Read more