Laws&Regulations - Procedure for the Approval of Projects for the Set-up or Refurbishment of Combined Heat and Power Plants ("CHP Plants")

The National Regulatory Authority for Energy ("ANRE") further developed the framework for the promotion of cogeneration adopted through Government Decision No. 1215/2009 by issuing the procedure for the approval of projects aimed at seting up or refurbishing CHP Plants to benefit from the support scheme (the "Procedure"). The Procedure regulates the duties, stages and necessary documents for the analysis of proposed CHP plants projects.

• TO WHOM DOES THE PROCEDURE APPLY?

The procedure applies to economic operators who are in the process of developing projects for the set up or refurbishment of CHP Plants. Therefore, economic operators would have to obtain:
- approval for preliminary accreditation if the project design is already in an advanced stage, i.e. the annual useful heat demand to be provided by the CHP plant must be determined; usually this approval precedes the establishment authorisation issued by ANRE which governs the construction and commissioning of the CHP Plant;
- approval for final accreditation, if the project development has reached the construction / commissioning stage, the CHP plant being estimated to come into operation the following year.

The approval for final accreditation is compulsory, whereas the approval for preliminary accreditation is optional. Therefore, the approval for preliminary accreditation does not replace the obligation to request and obtain an approval for final accreditation. The approval for preliminary accreditation does not implicitly guarantee the award of the approval for final accreditation and access to the support scheme, whenever the maximum capacity threshold of 4,000 MWh has been reached.

• TIMEFRAME FOR ISSUING OF APPROVALS

Following the submission of the documents indicated in the procedure by the economic operator, ANRE may request additional information within 15 (fifteen) days of submission date. ANRE must issue the requested approvals within 30 (thirty) working days, from the date the documentation is correct and complete. Any interested person may challenge the approval within 30 (thirty) days from the date of its communication.

After issuing an approval, ANRE updates the list of production capacities for electricity and heat in high-efficiency cogeneration ("List of Capacities") available on its website. The list of capacities includes the capacities with preliminary and final accreditation. The list of capacities indicates the high-efficiency CHP plants that can benefit from the cogeneration support scheme under Government Decision No. 1215/2009.

• ANALYSIS OF THE INVESTMENT PROJECT

When issuing the approval, ANRE analyses (i) the technical performance of the new/refurbished CHP plants, and (ii) estimated performance in exploiting the new/refurbished CHP plants, with respect to global efficiency, the primary energy savings determined by high-efficiency cogeneration, etc.

The new/refurbished CHP plants must use new main equipment that has not generated power/heat in Romania or in any other country.

• ADMINISTRATION OF THE LIST OF CAPACITIES

The list of capacities is managed by ANRE. It includes two sections: (i) the list of capacities with final accreditation, and (ii) the list of capacities with preliminary accreditation.

The procedure also stipulates the situations triggering the amendment of the list of capacities. By way of example, the natural person or legal entity having been issued an approval is compelled to notify ANRE in writing whenever there are any new elements meant to amend the data in the approvals granted.

Relevant provisions:
• Order no. 26/2010 dated 16/09/2010 regarding the procedure for the approval of projects for the set-up or refurbishment of CHP plants, published in the Official Gazette, Part I no. 679 dated 07/10/2010;
• Procedure dated 16/09/2010 for approval of new projects for refurbishment of CHP plants, published in Official Gazette, Part I no. 679 dated 07/10/2010;
• Government Decision no. 1.215/2009 regarding the establishment of criteria and necessary conditions for implementing the aid scheme for promoting high-efficiency cogeneration based on useful heat demand, published in the Official Gazette, Part I no. 748 dated 03/11/2009.

Cristina Daianu, Managing Counsel                                        Diana Poputoaia, Associate

This text is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used for legal advice nor is it an exhaustive presentation of the analyzed issues. Salans does not assume any liability derived from its implementation or from the failure to implement the abovementioned. We recommend legal consultation for any given case related to specific legal problems.