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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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;
  3. 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.
  4. 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:

  1. Decarbonisation of the energy system is technically and economically feasible;
  2. Energy-efficiency and renewable energy are of crucial importance;
  3. Early investment costs less;
  4. Controlling price-rises;
  5. Advantages of scale are needed.

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