5th British Chamber Conference on Renewable Energy

Transcription

1 5th British Chamber Conference on Renewable Energy Renewable Energy in the European Context a legal perspective Dr. Alexander Dlouhy, LL.M. (McGeorge) Rechtsanwalt [attorney at law admitted in Germany] Hamburg 30 October

2 Osborne Clarke international legal practice Osborne Clarke International is a team of lawyers in 19 international offices providing clients with consistently high standards of service and commercial cross-border legal advice tailored to their industry. 2

3 OC in numbers 3

4 Why we focus on Industry Sectors Understanding your aims is important to us. We deliver the right legal solution for your business. The benefit to your business is clear. You can act on our advice commercially. It's always in the context of what's happening in your business and your industry. We are committed to understanding our clients' business. The vast majority (around 80%) of the cases, deals and transactions that we handle are in the 7 sectors we know best. Our mission is to remain at the forefront of developments in our sectors. Our hiring policy and the development of our lawyers is informed by the industries we work in - we place our people on secondments with our clients, and we are regularly in dialogue with the regulator(s), media and other stakeholders in your sector. Transport & Automotive Retail Real Estate & Infrastructure Digital Business Sector Focus Osborne Clarke Life Sciences & Healthcare Energy & Utilities Financial Services 4

5 Current challenges for Renewable Energy Regulation of power capacity installation Expansion of national grid / interconnection capacities Renewable Investment certainty 5

6 Regulation of new power capacity installation Germany: system change with Renewable Energies Act 2014 Direct sales to third parties mandatory for new installations (exceptions apply) Installation of new capacities within target corridors (e.g. 2,500 MW/a for onshore wind (net) and 2,500 MW/a for photovoltaic energy (gross)) Pilot tender system opens 2015 for ground-mounted photovoltaic plants (envisaged 600 MW/a) Implementation of tender system for all renewable energy sources envisaged as of 2017 Regulation of new power capacity installation, e.g. UK and France: France: Tenders for construction of renewable energy plants in order to reach the target capacity set UK: From Renewable Obligation Certificates to Contracts for Difference 6

7 Renewable Investments Investment Certainty Investment certainty indispensable for new capacity installations Italy/Spain: new laws reduce renewables remuneration significantly and with effect also for existing plants Germany: Updated regime, but existing investments are protected: Effects on existing power plants Renewables Energies Act 2014 also applies, but no FIT impact Direct marketing remains optional but with increased requirements Guaranteed FITs still apply irrespective of plants' capacity Effects on new power plants Mandatory direct marketing FITs apply only for small plants or in "emergency cases" Implementation of plant register for more transparency Increased project finance risks 7

8 Grid expansion and capacity Transmission of energy has national and international dimension Grid and market integration of renewable energy generation in EU requires further expansion of national capacities and interconnection capacities Capacities not yet sufficient to face Energiewende challenges Non-discriminatory interconnection capacity (bottleneck) management based on auction models 8

9 Your contact Dr. Alexander Dlouhy, LL.M. (McGeorge) Partner, Rechtsanwalt Head of Energy & Utilities Germany