Green Certificates (CV) represent a form of support to electricity generation from
renewable energy sources (RES). Under Law 244/07, the electricity generated by RES
plants commissioned or repowered from 1 April 1999 to 31 December 2007 is certified
as renewable electricity (RES-E) and eligible for Green Certificates for the first
12 years of operation of the same plants. The electricity generated by RES plants
commissioned or repowered after 1 January 2008 is certified as RES-E for the first
15 years of operation of the same plants.
Green Certificates are issued by Gestore dei Servizi Energetici S.p.A - GSE on the
basis of producers’ reports of RES-E generation in the previous year or of the expected
RES-E generating capability in the current or following year. One Green Certificate
is worth 1 MWh of electricity.
For plants commissioned after 31 December 2007 and having a yearly average nominal
capacity of more than 1 MW (0.2 MW for wind power plants), GSE issues Green Certificates
for 15 years, by multiplying the net electricity (EI) determined for the project
by the constants (differentiated by source) shown in Table 2 of the 2008 Budget
Law.
Table 2 of the Budget Law was updated by Law no. 99 of 23 July 2009, as shown below:
TABLE 2
|
Source |
Multiplicativ Factor |
|
1 Wind (plants with a capacity of more than 200 kW) |
1,00 |
|
1 bis Off-shore wind
|
1,50 |
|
3 Geothermal
|
0,90 |
|
4 Waves and tides |
1,80 |
|
5 Hydro (other than the one indicated in the previous point) |
1,00 |
|
6 Biodegradable waste and biomass (other than the one indicated
in the following point) |
1,30 |
7 Biomass and biogases obtained from agriculture, animal husbandry
and forestry on a
short supply-line basis |
1,80 |
8 Landfill gas, sewage treatment plant gas and biogases (other
than the ones indicated in
the previous point) |
0,80 |
As a result of the enactment of the Decree of 18 December 2008, GSE makes adjustments
for eligible RES (“IAFR”) plants, i.e. issues additional Green Certificates by applying
the multiplicative factors reported in the above table.
Moreover, art. 11 of Legislative Decree 79/99 stipulates that, beginning in 2002,
producers and importers of electricity from non-renewable sources are required to
yearly inject into the power system a given quota of RES-E. This quota is equal
to 2% of the electricity from non-renewable sources generated or imported in the
previous year and exceeding 100 GWh/year.
Producers and importers may also fulfil their renewable quota obligation by purchasing
Green Certificates which have been issued in respect of RES-E generated by other
parties.
From 2004 to 2006, the minimum quota of RES-E to be injected into the power grid
in the following year was increased by 0.35% per year. In the 2007-2012 period,
this quota is increased by 0.75% per year.
Under
Legislative Decree no. 28 of 3 March 2011 (implementing Directive 2009/28/EC
on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently
repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC), the mandatory quota of RES-E that
producers and importers from conventional sources are required to inject into the
grid (art. 11, paras 1 and 2 of Legislative Decree no. 70 of 16 March 1999), equal
7.55 % for 2012, shall be linearly reduced beginning in 2013 until reaching zero
by 2015.
Generation by all plants commissioned after 31 December 2012 will be supported under
general criteria, which will ensure a fair remuneration of investment and operation
costs. Moreover, the duration of the support will be equal to the average useful
lifetime of the specific technology of the plant.
The incentive will be constant throughout the support period and granted under private-law
contracts with GSE:
- the amount of the incentive for plants below a given threshold – different
for the different sources and anyway not below 5 MWe – will be differentiated by
technology and equal to the one applicable upon commissioning of the plant;
- for plants above the aforementioned threshold, the incentive will be determined
through Dutch auctions (each concerning a capacity quota to be installed for each
source or technology) organised by GSE.
GME organises and manages the Green Certificates Market. The following entities
may participate in the Green Certificates Market as buyers or sellers: GSE, domestic
and foreign producers, electricity importers, wholesale customers, as well as associations
(consumers’ and users’ groups, environmental associations, trade unions). To participate
in the market, applicants must submit an appropriate application to GME and obtain
the status of Market Participants.
The Green Certificates Market organised by GME provides:
liquidity: as per art. 9 of the Ministerial Decree of 24 Oct. 2005, GSE will
offer its own Green Certificates in GME’s regulated market;
transparency: the prices that are set in the market are of public domain;
security: GME operates in the market as a CENTRAL COUNTERPARTY and guarantees
the payment of transactions.
Usually, market sessions are held weekly on a continuous trading basis. The dates
of the sessions are posted in the “How to operate” section.
For details, go to GME-APER Guide: "Fonti rinnovabili: guida alla vendita dell'energia
e agli incentivi".
Download the Guide (Italian version only, updated 2009)
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