EXCLUSIVE Ministry of Energy: Law on decarbonization, which foresees a decrease in the amount of coal-based energy, will be sent to the European Commission for consultation / According to the NRPP, it must enter into force by June 30

The draft law on decarbonization, which is one of the objectives included in the NRRP, is being drafted by the Ministry of Energy, „and will be sent to the European Commission for consultation and then to the approval circuit,” the ministry told G4Media.

The draft of this law is not yet published for public consultation by the Ministry and, according to the NRPP, should enter into force by 30 June.

„The law on the decarbonization and related secondary legislation, setting the timetable for the decommissioning of total installed coal and lignite capacity, will enter into force by Q2 2022 at the latest,” the NRPP, Component 6 – Energy, states.

Although the deadline is about a month away, the Ministry says in its response to G4Media that it „does not intend, at this time, to enter into a dialogue with the European Commission to change the deadline for the entry into force of the draft legislation or the conditions of this reform. If objective circumstances intervene, the Romanian Government may initiate a dialogue with the European Commission to modify this milestone”.

Details, from the energy component – NRRP: The decarbonization law and related secondary legislation will aim for the following:

• Decommissioning of the total installed coal/lignite-fired power generation capacity of 4590MW by 2032, with the following timetable for completion by 2025:
  – Decommissioning of 1695 MW installed capacity corresponding to coal-fired power generation by Q4 2021 (before the law is adopted);

– Decommissioning of a cumulative installed capacity of 2355 MW of coal/lignite-fired power generation by Q4 2022;

– decommissioning of a cumulative installed capacity of 3780 MW of coal/lignite-fired power generation by Q4 2025;

• Establishment of measures on rehabilitation of mines to be closed (e.g. land reclamation in mining areas, such as topsoil and revegetation, landfill, post-closure land use for final landforms);
• Establishment of retraining measures (retraining and reskilling) and other measures with socio-economic impact on affected communities.

CONTEXT

To date, the timetable assumed in the NRRP has been respected and the 2021 milestone coal capacities have been closed.

In the context of the outbreak of war in Ukraine and the uncertainty of supply of some of the necessary resources, the Energy Minister mentioned „the extension of the use of coal for a limited period”, but without offering further details.

European Commission officials have recently said that the EU does not want to give up on climate targets in the context of the war in Ukraine.

„The European Union does not intend to relax its climate neutrality target because of the invasion of Ukraine,” European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis told the Brussels Economic Forum last week, according to news agencies.

Some EU countries have called for a relaxation of EU plans to phase out the use of coal, the most polluting fuel and main contributor to climate change, to help keep energy prices low during the transition period.

The EU wants to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, a plan that involves shutting down coal-fired power plants. (Full story, here.)

The Oltenia Energy Complex, which provides 90% of the nation’s coal-fired power, which is between 15% and 20% of what is needed, has a restructuring plan approved by the European Commission. The Ișalnița thermal power plant, part of the CEO, was restarted at the end of April after two weeks of checks and around 600 people have been hired. (details, here)