Large and small-scale solar and wind energy projects stand to benefit from a series of revisions included in a draft bill on RES and environmental matters set to be discussed by parliamentary committees ahead of ratification.

Besides introducing a simpler RES licensing procedure that replaces production licenses with producer certificates obtained instantly online as long as all criteria are met, the environmental draft bill also includes a series of other favorable measures.

Projects not required to participate in RES auctions, such as solar energy projects of up to 500 KW, will be given four-month extensions – from the most recent RES auction – for tariff prices determined through a previous formula offering, as the tariff price, the average level of three preceding auctions. Therefore, if the next RES auction were to be staged in July, for example, current tariffs for projects not required to participate in RES auctions would remain valid until November.

The draft bill also features a revision broadening a “special projects” category to include wind energy projects of over 150 MW as well as RES projects with underwater cable interconnections. Projects in this category will have six years for completion.

Also, a withholding tax concerning licenses issued in 2017, 2018 and 2019 will be reduced to one third of the current level, this being 1,000 euros per megawatt, annually.

The revisions also offer landowners protection from investors seeking to utilize property for RES projects without providing property titles or land lease agreements to authorities. This matter has caused confusion.