Renewable Energy Faces Extinction in the Czech Republic. Renewable Energy Industry Groups to Meet with European Commission
Renewable energy plants in the Czech Republic are at risk of going bankrupt, as the Energy Regulatory Office has unlawfully refused to issue an obligatory pricing decision continuing the support for renewable energy sources in 2016. All wind, hydroelectric, solar, biomass, and biogas plants that were grid-connected between 2006 and 2012 are affected. If a solution is not found by early January, there is a very real chance that the Czech Republic will be hit with a spate of lawsuits and international arbitration claims.
According to valid legislation, renewable energy producers are entitled to support in the form of feed-in tariffs or green bonuses throughout the entire expected lifetime of installations. Leading renewable energy industry groups will therefore be meeting with representatives from DG Energy in Brussels on Tuesday, 15 December 2015, in order to lobby for help in stabilizing the Czech renewables sector. Representatives of both organizations also met with representatives of DG Competition on 26 November, when they were assured that no formal proceedings against the support scheme for renewable energy sources in the Czech Republic had been initiated.
“Independent legal analyses clearly demonstrate that by not granting aid for renewable energy, the Energy Regulatory Office has overstepped legal boundaries. The Energy Regulatory Office’s arbitrary interpretation of the law must come to a quick stop. The European Commission should promptly begin looking into the situation in the Czech Republic, where EU processes are being intentionally abused to damage renewable energy projects,” said Veronica Hamáčková, director of the Czech Photovoltaic Industry Association, about the current situation.
“The current obstructions that the Energy Regulatory Office has created by refusing to issue the obligatory pricing decision continuing support for renewable energy source will cause irreparable damage to the Czech Republic’s image as a state with a secure investment climate and the rule of law. By not continuing the legally binding support, the cracks that formed in investor trust in the Czech state after retroactive solar levies were adopted in recent years will only grow larger. The European Commission must realize that the current situation puts meeting EU renewable targets at risk and erodes trust in the European Single Market,” said Marek Lang of the Alliance for Energy Self-Sufficiency on the key impacts of the situation in the Czech Republic.
