Renewables in Moldova

1. SUMMARY 

Given the present geopolitical and economic circumstances, attaining energy security is a big challenge. The Republic of Moldova has faced an unprecedented energy crisis, due to a high level of dependency on fossil fuel and electricity imports. Moldova has made considerable ef-forts to diversify supply sources during the previous year. Moldova has assumed commit-ments arising from its European integration aspirations which are fully conducive to its devel-opment. 

Due to the emergency synchronization with ENTSO-E in 2022, Moldova has been pushed closer to electricity trade with European Union. This was a significant and worthwhile step to-wards supplier diversity, which should be followed by the development of competitive mar-kets, ensuring the sustainability of the energy sector and its security. 

The Energy Strategy 2030 of the Republic of Moldova has set the main objectives in the en-ergy field for the medium and long term, which objectives consider the integration of Moldo-va’s energy market with that of the European Union by pursuing commitments assumed with-in the Energy Community. 

Currently, Moldova imports approximately 80% of its electricity consumption from Transnis-tria. The remaining 20% of electricity primarily comes from the Moldavan Combined Heat and Power Plants (CHPs) and a small portion (approximately 3%) from renewables.

Moldova exceeded its overall 2020 target of 17% renewable energy production from the total electricity consumption by reaching 25.06% of renewable energy in 2020. However, contribu-tions of renewable energy to electricity and transport are still very low. 

As regards 2030, the Moldavan Energy Strategy (which is currently under revision) indicates the following national targets for 2030:

•  30% renewable energy in the overall consumption; 
•  improved energy efficiency by 30%; 
•  reduction of CO2 emissions by 35%.

The 2016 Renewables Law sets the legal basis for renewable energy support schemes, con-sisting of (i) administratively set feed-in tariffs for small producers (less than 4 megawatts for wind and 1 megawatt for all other renewables technologies) that have been declared eligible as per the law and (ii) administratively set fixed prices for the producers declared eligible fur-ther to the auctions organized by the Government. So far, two decisions were approved by the Government, in 2018 and 2021 (amended in 2022), allocating a cumulative capacity of 165 megawatts for auctions and 356 megawatts for feed-in tariffs.

To help investors in renewable energy to get acquainted with the complex provisions of na-tional legislation and planned procedures, the Energy Efficiency Agency, which acts under the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development, was assigned the role of an informal one-stop shop. Moldova joined the energy community initiative to establish a regional system for guarantees of origin. The national electronic registry for guarantees of origin in Moldova was created and can be utilized as soon as Energocom, as the designated issuing body, signs a direct agreement with the service provider.

Finally, on February 16, 2023, a new Government was sworn-in and the newly created Minis-try of Energy took over the responsibility to achieve the new energy target of Moldova.

2. OVERVIEW OF THE COUNTRY’S RENEWABLE ENERGY SECTOR 

2.1. Legal Framework

Principles of renewable energy legislation

1. The legislation of the Republic of Moldova on renewable energy is founded on the following principles:

a) adjustment of the national legislative framework to the norms and standards of the Europe-an Union;

b) promotion of renewable energy by applying support schemes;

c) carrying out state administration of renewable energy;

d) ensuring transparency in carrying out activities in renewable energy;

e) ensuring non-discriminatory access to networks;

f) ensuring access of individuals and legal persons to information on the production and use of energy from renewable sources;

g) ensuring information and education to the public on the production and use of energy from renewable sources;

h) supervising the cultivation and use of genetically modified plant varieties for the production of solid biofuel and biofuels in a closed technological cycle.

As regards the Renewables Sector, such is mainly regulated by Law no. 10 of 26 February 2016 on Promoting Energy from Renewable Sources (Renewables Law). 

The Renewables Law sets forth the following support schemes for producers of electricity: 

 Fixed electricity prices for producers declared eligible further to the auctions orga-nized by the Moldavian Government for large-capacity units (power plants with an in-stalled capacity exceeding 4 megawatts in case of wind power plants, or 1 megawatt in case of other technologies); 

Fixed feed-in tariff scheme for power plants with capacity below the above threshold. The above-mentioned support schemes are not applicable to producers that benefited from prior aid. 

For the purpose of implementing the above-mentioned support schemes, the government ap-proves and updates the capacity limits of the state aid. As per the Government Decision no. 401 of 08 December 2021 on the Approval of Capacity Limits, Maximum Quotas, and Capaci-ty Categories in the field of Electricity from Renewable Sources valid until December 31, 2025.

2. Recent trends in the Moldavian market

The emergency synchronization and the energy crisis shifted the Government’s focus to in-terconnectivity and diversification of supply. Measures to speed up electricity market reform and the country’s integration with Ukraine and Romania took center stage. At Moldova’s re-quest, the Secretariat prepared an electricity market reform action plan, which was endorsed by the Moldovan Government at the second EU-Moldova High-Level Energy Dialogue on June 30, 2022. The plan outlines key activities that should be undertaken by relevant stake-holders: the transmission system operator’s certification, implementation of joint capacity allo-cation on the interconnections with Ukraine and Romania, and REMIT implementation. The adoption of the new Electricity Law, which is currently being drafted, is being prioritized.

Renewables have great potential in the Republic of Moldova. Wind energy has the greatest technical potential at approximately 77.3%, followed by solar potential equal to approximately 9.3%; biomass constitutes about 8.3%, out of which, solid biomass constitutes 7% and biogas potential is estimated at 1.2%, and hydro potential is about 5.2%. The technical potential of RES for power generation in the Republic of Moldova is estimated to be 65,029 gigawatts hour. 

2.2. Domestic Sales and Imports/Exports 

Electricity generated from renewable power plants by the producers that obtained the status of eligible producers and, hence, the benefit of support schemes, is purchased by Central Electricity Supplier (Energocom). Hence, electricity supported by the support schemes ap-proved by the Renewables Law cannot be freely traded on the Moldavian electricity market. 

Moreover, currently, there is a state of alert on the electricity market in Moldova, and accord-ing to National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE) Decision no. 790 of October 13, 2022, the export of electricity is prohibited during the state of alert.

Moldova imports approximately 80% of its electricity consumption from Transnistria.

2.3. Foreign Investment and Participation 

Foreign investors in the Republic of Moldova shall benefit from the same rights as local inves-tors. The procedure for registering and operating a foreign-investment company is similar to the procedure for registering, operating, and dissolving a local investment company. Foreign investors may acquire, in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Moldova, the right of ownership of immovable property on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, except for agricultural and forestry land, in order to carry out an entrepreneurial activity.

Law no. 174/2021 (National Security Investment Law) entered into force on November 19, 2021, which regulates the conditions for investment activities in areas of importance for state security. However, a functional mechanism related to this procedure has not yet been regu-lated (the secondary regulatory framework is scheduled to be approved soon). 

Under the provisions of the National Security Investment Law, the operation of energy infra-structure is an area of importance for state security. Unfortunately, since the National Securi-ty Investment Law has quite recently been approved (in November 2021), there’s no existing practice of Moldovan authorities and no relevant precedent on how such authorities might in-terpret this specific situation. 

Under the provisions of the National Security Investment Law, any potential investor, prior to carrying out investment activities in areas of importance for State security, is obliged to obtain prior approval from the Council for the promotion of investment projects of national importance (Council). Omission of FDI filling may lead to consequences such as suspension of the ex-ercise of voting rights, rights to convene and hold the general meeting of sharehold-ers/associates, to receive dividends, etc. The investors are obliged to request prior approval within 30 days of the notification received from the Council or to sell the acquired shares within 60 days of the date of the notification received from the Council.

The list of legal consequences/risks is not exhaustive, as such will depend on the type of transaction, but the current legislation does not provide any penalties.

2.4. Protection of Investment 

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change, adopted by 196 countries at the 21st Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December 2015. It entered into force on November 4, 2016. The goal of the Paris Agreement is to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius when compared with pre-industrial levels. 

Moldova is a signatory to the Paris Agreement and in March 2020 presented its second Na-tionally Determined Contribution (NDC2), to the UNFCCC Secretariat. The NDC2 includes: 

• A new economy-wide unconditional target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70% below 1990 levels by 2030. According to the National Inventory Report10 of Moldova to the UNFCCC, in 2019 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions were 69.5% less than in 1990. 
• A new economy-wide conditional target, under which emissions could be reduced by up to 88% below 1990 levels. 

EU-Moldova relations and the Association Agreement. On June 23, 2022, Moldova was granted the formal status of candidate for accession to the European Union. In due course, this will lead to an upgrading of Moldova’s relationship with the EU, including the opening of accession negotiations. 

The Association Agreement (AA) between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union, including a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) entered into provisional ap-plication in 2014 and into full force on July 1, 2016. An important pillar of the AA/DCFTA is aligning Moldovan laws to selected EU legislative acts, thereby supporting improvements in governance, strengthening the rule of law, and providing more economic opportunities by opening further Moldovan access to the EU market for goods and services.

Along the lines, in accordance with the decision of the Ministerial Council of the Energy Community No 2021/14/MC-EnC, the Republic of Moldova is to transpose into national legislation the Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 on the governance of the energy union and climate action (part of the Clean Energy Package), one of the requirements of which is the development and approval of integrated national energy and climate plans.

The key priorities for cooperation between the EU and Moldova are identified as increased energy security and a better-functioning energy market. The EU provides funding towards strengthening the capacity for energy sector reform and increased energy efficiency. 

EU support for the alignment of Moldovan legislation to EU regulations in the energy sector is carried out under the framework of the Energy Community; alignment should, in due course, contribute to the extension of the EU internal energy market to Moldova. 

In addition, Moldova is one of the focus countries of the EU4Energy Program implemented by the International Energy Agency, the Energy Community Secretariat, and the Energy Charter Secretariat.

The Energy Community. Moldova became a contracting party of the Energy Community Treaty in 2010 and has commitments to transpose EU energy legislation, develop competitive and open electricity and gas markets and integrate its national energy markets into the EU internal energy market.

As a Party to the Energy Community Treaty, in order to comply with the requirements of in-ternational commitments, the Republic of Moldova is to develop a new public policy document defining the actions and measures envisaged for the energy sector for the time horizon after 2030. Currently, the Energy Strategy of the Republic of Moldova until 2050 (SEM 2050) is be-ing developed.

3. DEVELOPMENT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS 

3.1. Granting of Grid Connection Rights 

The main pieces of legislation that regulate the connection to the grid of renewable energy ca-pacities are the Renewables Law, Law no 107 of 27 May 2016 on Electricity, Law on Energy Efficiency no. 139/2018, Government Decision no. 401 of 08 December 2021 on the Approval of Capacity Limits, Maximum Quotas and Capacity Categories in the field of Electricity from Renewable Sources valid until December 31, 2025, the ANRE decision no. 169/2019 on the connection to the electricity networks and for providing electricity distribution and transmission services.

As per the said legislation, connection rights are granted by the grid operator through the grid connection permit which is issued based on the first come, first served principle.

The grid operator is entitled to refuse access to the electricity network on the grounds of lack of capacity – the refusal regarding access to the network must be formulated in writing by the system operator and should include the presentation of reasons justified from a technical and economic point of view and the presentation of relevant information about the measures nec-essary to remove the reasons for refusal, including the measures necessary for the devel-opment of electrical networks of transport and distribution and about the specific deadlines for their development. The producer facing a refusal has the right to reduce the capacity re-quested in the request for the issuance of the connection notice in order to observe the limits of the available grid capacity or to ask to be included in the waiting list for the issuance of grid connection permits held by the relevant grid operator. Such a waiting list includes the rejected requests for issuing the grid connection permits ordered chronologically, in the order of re-ceipt of requests for inclusion in the waiting list, by applying the first come, first served principle. The remaining available capacity due to the expiration of validity, the cancellation of con-nection permits, or following the reduction of capacity is made available to applicants on the waiting list.

The grid connection permits are issued free of charge and will contain the technical and eco-nomic conditions for the connection to the grid. 

The grid connection permit will list the interconnection tariff which is formed out of the costs for the design and construction of the connection installation. If for the connection to the grid of the renewable energy capacity, the development of the electricity grid is necessary, the related costs will be incurred as follows:

 If the investment is included in the operator development plan, by the grid operator at the terms provided in the plan;

By the producer, if the development of the respective grid is not a priority for the grid operator on the grounds that such investment is carried out for the exclusive benefit of the respective producer and is not necessary for other system users. In this case, the operator of the transport system, and the operator of the distribution system are obliged to present to the respective producer an evaluation that proves the fact that the development of the electricity network is for its exclusive benefit and to notify ANRE. In this case, the grid operator becomes the owner of the respective portion of the grid financed by the producer. 

The grid connection permit issued for generation capacities is valid for a period of 24 months as of the date of issuance. At the applicant’s request, the validity period of the connection permit is extended once by the system operator with an additional 24 months period, if the applicant presents a valid building permit for the construction of the generation capacity for which the connection notice was issued.

However, if the developer contracts directly a contractor for the design of the connection in-stallation (instead of appointing the grid operator based on the grid connection contract), the grid connection permit will be terminated if the subcontractor does not provide the design documentation for the connection installation within 12 months as of the issuance date.

3.2. Ownership by Foreign Companies 

The projects related to renewable electricity production can be developed by foreign compa-nies, provided they comply with the licensing requirements that apply irrespective of the type of investor (foreign or domestic).  

The status of an eligible electricity producer, depending on the installed capacity, is obtained either through a tender organized by the Government or through the confirmation of this sta-tus by ANRE.

The solution for an investor interested in the license of an existing company or in the status of the eligible producer is to become a shareholder of that company or to incorporate his com-pany and to apply for the license and for the eligible producer status.

3.3. Stages of the Development Process 

The following permits/authorizations are required:

• Environmental permit – the administrative act issued by the competent authority for environmental protection, which confirms the environmental impact assessment and sets out the conditions and environmental protection measures to be observed in the case of implementation of the project. The permit is valid for four  years and cannot be prolonged.
• The urban planning certificate for designing the facility construction – a regulatory act that provides the applicant (beneficiary) prescriptions and elements that characterize the legal, economic, technical, and architectural-urban regime of a construction/land, established by the urban planning and spatial planning documentation and allows the elaboration of the project documentation. The maximum validity term of the urban planning certificate is 24 months.
• Grid connection permit – a written position issued by the grid operator indicating the technical-economic conditions for connecting the power plant to the electricity net-work, as well as the conditions of using the electrical network after commissioning.
• the status of eligible supplier – producer of electricity from renewable energy sources who got the right that the entire quantity of electricity delivered by him to the electricity grids to be purchased at the set prices/prices by the 2018 Renewables Law. Has the obligation to build and start operating the power plant producing electricity from renew-able energy sources no later than 24 months after confirmation of eligible supplier sta-tus.
• Building permit – which authorizes the execution of construction works for the general capacity on the basis of and in compliance with the urban planning certificate and the project documentation prepared, verified, and approved. The validity period of the building permit depends on the duration of construction works but the investor has the obligation to start the construction works within 6 months of the issuance date thereof. Failure to initiate the construction works within the time limit set by the building permit will result in the building permit becoming invalid. 
• The government decision in case of power plants having an installed capacity exceed-ing 20 megawatts.
• License – a document or certificate by which the issuing authority certifies the fulfill-ment of the conditions established by law, attesting the applicant’s rights and obliga-tions for starting, carrying out, and/or terminating the entrepreneurial activity in the re-newable electricity generation field of energy from renewable sources. The license is issued for a period of 25 years.

3.4. Obligatory State/Public Participation 

State’s participation:

To date, investments in the energy sector have been largely funded by the Central Govern-ment or through state-owned enterprises. Some current projects are being financed by inter-national financial institutions lending largely to the public sector. Going forward, public invest-ment requirements in the energy sector will need to be integrated into an improved public in-vestment management process. Much greater focus must also be placed on how to attract private investment into the sector, given the high investment needs and the poor efficiency of the existing state-run production facilities.

With respect to private investment, Moldavan State also directly participates in the direct in-vestment approval, as it organizes the auctions for the award of eligible producer status and it issues the authorizations for the installment of a generation facility having an installed capacity exceeding 20 megawatts. 

The state can benefit from foreign participation in the renewable energy sector of the jurisdic-tion in the following ways:

• Diversification of energy sources: By encouraging foreign investment in the renewable energy sector, the state can diversify its energy sources and reduce its reliance on traditional sources of energy, such as oil and gas, and the dependency on Transnis-tria. This can improve energy security, reduce the impact of volatile energy prices, and help to mitigate the risks of climate change.
• Collection of taxes (income, VAT).
• Adjacent investment: foreign investments will create jobs, boost economic growth, and help to achieve the state’s renewable energy goals.
• Access to technology and expertise: Foreign companies often bring with them ad-vanced technology and expertise in the renewable energy sector, which can help to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of renewable energy projects in the jurisdic-tion. This can help the state to develop a more robust renewable energy industry and reduce its dependence on fossil fuels

3.5. Risks to be Considered

See Section 4.7.

4. RENEWABLE ENERGY CONSTRUCTION AND PRODUCTION 

4.1. RTB Status 

The following permits are required in order to consider a renewable energy project as “Ready-to-build”: Environmental permit; The urban planning certificate for the generation ca-pacity; Grid connection permit; obtaining the status of the eligible supplier; a Building permit, Government decision in case of power plants having an installed capacity exceeding 20 meg-awatts.

4.2. Construction of Renewable Energy Projects 

Main specifics: 

1. Permitting and regulatory requirements: Renewable energy projects require permits and regulatory approvals at the local, state/provincial, and federal levels which have been listed above.

2. Site selection and land acquisition: Identifying suitable sites with access to renewable resources such as wind, solar, hydro, and geothermal is crucial to the success of the project and the prohibition for foreign entities/citizens to purchase agricultural land. Land acquisition can be a complex process that requires negotiation with landowners and obtaining legal rights to use the land.

3. Technology selection: The selection of technology is important for the success of re-newable energy projects. The choice of technology depends on the availability of re-newable resources and the project’s scale and requirements.

4. Engineering and design: Proper engineering and design are necessary for the con-struction and operation of renewable energy projects. This includes site preparation, infrastructure development, and system interconnection.

Main risks: See Section 4.7.

4.3. Granting of Renewable Energy Production Licenses

The legal framework which regulates the licensing of renewable energy production:

•  Renewables Law;
•  Law no 107 of 27 May 2016 on Electricity;
•  Law no 92 of 29 May 2014 on Heat Energy and Promotion of Cogeneration;
•  Law no 108 of 27 May 2016 on Natural Gas;
•  Law no 160 of 22 July 2011 on Regulation by Authorization of Entrepreneurial Activity.
• The main authority responsible for the issuance of the generation license from renewable en-ergy sources, as well as the issuance of the secondary legislation, is ANRE.

The license is issued for a period of 25 years, but if within four  years of obtaining the license, the developer has not completed the construction of the generation capacity, the license shall be withdrawn by ANRE.

Necessary documents for obtaining the license in the renewable energy field:

• The application (declaration) which will contain information about the type of activity;
• The applicant’s declaration on own responsibility regarding the assumption of compliance with the licensing conditions when carrying out the type of activity for which the license is requested and regarding the authenticity of the documents presented;
• Applicant’s/company’s excerpt from the state registry in the Republic of Moldova;
• the financial situation for the previous year, in the case of the active legal entity, or extract from the bank account, in the case of starting the business;
• to have qualified personnel, necessary for the activity for which he is applying for a license, and to present confirmatory documents in this regard

The license fee is MDL 3,250 (approximately EUR 160). 

The license contains:

(a) the name of the licensing authority;

(b) the series, number, and date of issue/extension of the license;

(c) the name, legal form of organization, legal address of the license holder or, in the case of a natural person holding a license, the surname, forename, and address;

(d) date of adoption of the decision to register the undertaking or organization, IDNO of the undertaking or organization or series and number of the identity card, IDNP of the natural person;

(e) the type of activity, in whole or in part, for which the license is issued;

(f) the validity period of the license;

(g) the signature of the head of the licensing authority or his deputy, authenticated by the ap-plication of the stamp of that authority;

(h) the automatic document identifier generated by the GEAP AIS.

Other grounds for license withdrawal:

a) non-authentic data detected in the documents submitted to the Agency with respect to the issuance, extension, or re-issuance of the license;

b) ascertainment that the licensee does not meet the conditions established for the issuance and extension of the license;

c) ascertainment that the license or a copy thereof has been transferred to another person for the purpose of carrying out the type of activity indicated in the license;

d) failure to remedy within the prescribed period the circumstances which led to the suspen-sion of the license;

e) repeated failure to comply with the requirements issued by the Agency concerning the elimination of infringements of the conditions for the termination of the licensed activity;

f) incapacity of the licensee to carry out the activity for which the license was issued.

4.4. Renewable Energy Production by Foreign Investors 

Please see Section 2.2. regarding the investments carried out by foreign investors in Moldo-va. 

However, the electricity generation license or the status of the eligible producer is not trans-ferable/assignable. 

4.5. Operation and Maintenance of Renewable Energy Projects

The operation and maintenance of renewable energy projects are carried out in accordance with the normative-technical documents approved by the Government and ANRE. Additional-ly, there are National standards approved by the National Standardization Institute.

4.6. Decommissioning Process 

At the moment, the legislation doesn’t regulate the process of decommissioning renewable energy projects. 

The potential investors should know that the environmental impact assessment requires that environmental cleanliness conditions are met, and at the end of the operating period, the re-newable project installations are to be exported to the supplier or other companies for pro-cessing/decommissioning.

4.7. Risks to be Considered

The main risk that should be taken into account is the geopolitical context and the war cur-rently going on in Ukraine, as well as its effects on the Republic of Moldova.

Other risks to be taken into account:

 Financial-banking risk: credits in the Republic of Moldova are more expensive than those in the European banking market. Exact calculations should be made on the size of the investment, its value, and the return on investment (including the duration for re-turning the investment).

 Regulatory risks: Changes in the legal and regulatory framework, such as modifica-tions to feed-in tariffs or net metering policies, can impact the profitability and viability of renewable energy projects.

 Environmental risk: the development of renewable energy projects can have environ-mental impacts, such as land use changes or impacts on wildlife, which can be sub-ject to regulatory or public scrutiny. Climate-related factors are also considered, such as hailstorms that may occur during the summer, so appropriate measures to secure the solar panels should be considered.

5. BALANCING OF RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS, STORAGE, SALES 

5.1. Balancing of Renewable Energy Projects 

The regulatory framework for balancing the renewable energy generation position consists of ANRE’s Decision No. 283/2020 of 07.08.2020 on the approval of the Electricity Market Rules, IS Moldelectrica, as the transmission system operator, has developed and approved a set of procedures and framework contracts related to the electricity balancing market 

According to the above-mentioned legislative acts, each and every participant in the electricity market (hence, including the producers) have the obligation to undertake financial responsibil-ity for the imbalances they generate in the electricity networks. All participants in the electricity market are obliged to plan their production and acquisition, including the declared import of electricity, for each dispatch interval of each delivery day, in such a way as to correspond to the consumptions and sales forecast, including the declared exports.

All participants in the electricity market are obliged to be registered with the OST as a balanc-ing responsible party (PRE) and to send physical notifications. By way of exemption, the par-ticipants to the balancing market may set up balancing groups and delegate the balancing re-sponsibility to a sole entity that will undertake liability for the entire group. Such balancing groups.

Imbalances are calculated at the aggregate level for the production, consumption, and physi-cal exchanges of each PRE or balancing group.

5.2. Storage 

No legislation adopted yet.

5.3. Sales 

The sale of electricity generated by the capacities that benefit from the support schemes de-tailed above cannot be freely traded in Moldova. Please see Section 2.1. for more details. 

6. ROOFTOP, OFFSHORE, FLOATING, AND AGRICULTURAL RENEWABLE EN-ERGY PROJECTS 

6.1. Offshore Wind and Floating Photovoltaic Projects  

No specific legislation regarding offshore wind and floating photovoltaic projects have been adopted.

6.2. Rooftop Photovoltaic Projects 

See Section 2.1.

6.3. Agrivoltaic Projects 

As regards agrivoltaic projects, the Moldovan Land Code allows for the installation of photo-voltaic panels on agricultural land without changing its destination, provided such lands are grassed or used for agricultural activities.

7. TRADING OF GREEN CERTIFICATES/CERTIFICATES OF ORIGIN 

7.1. Certification  

Guarantees of origin of electricity from renewable sources are issued by the transportation or distribution operators upon the request from the producer submitted according to ANRE De-cision no. 376/2017 of 28.09.2017 on the approval of the Regulation on guarantees of origin for electricity produced from renewable energy sources. The producers benefiting from the support scheme are obliged to request the issuance of the guarantees of origin.

The guarantees of origin are issued in electronic format for each megawatt of renewable en-ergy delivered in the transmission/distribution network.

The guarantees of origin are used by the electricity supplier to demonstrate the contribution of renewable energy sources in the total structure of electricity sources used by the supplier in the previous year.

7.2. Trading 

The guarantees of origin can be transferred by the renewable energy producer to another producer or to an electricity supplier (including Energocom) or by an electricity supplier to an-other supplier.  

The transfer of the certificates of origin to Energocom is mandatory in case of producers that benefit from the support schemes, while Energocom further transfers such certificates to the account of the suppliers that purchased electricity from renewable energy sources.

The guarantees of origin can be also transferred to participants in the electricity market from other states which are members of the European Union and/or from the countries part of the Energy Community.