European Union (Renewable Energy) Regulations 2014

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 483/2014
• Year: 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Regulations

1. Citation

2. Interpretation

3. Exemplary role of public bodies regarding public buildings

4. Access to and operation of grid

5. Supervision and issuance of guarantees of origin

6. Functions of the guarantee of origin

7. Eligibility and characteristics of a guarantee of origin

8. Request for issue of guarantee of origin and information required

9. Revocation of a guarantee of origin

10. Recognition of guarantees of origin

11. Recoupment of costs

12. Saver

13. Guarantee of origin for high efficiency CHP

14. Calculation of share of energy from renewable sources

15. Competent authority for appropriate measures

16. Introduction of support schemes and renewable energy obligations

17. Biofuels and bioliquids meeting sustainability criteria

18. Bioliquids — verification

19. Bioliquids — information from participants

20. Bioliquids — independent audit of records

21. Statement of compliance with sustainability criteria

22. Provision of information by competent authority to SEAI

23. Provision of information on biofuel blends greater than 10 per cent

24. Amendment of S.I. No. 217 of 2002

25. Amendment of Regulations of 2012

26. Amendment of Biofuels Obligation Act — Section 44G(4)

27. Revocation of S.I. No. 147 of 2011

SCHEDULE 1

Calculation of the share of energy from renewable sources

SCHEDULE 2

Indicative Trajectory

SCHEDULE 3

Sustainability Criteria for Biofuels and Bioliquids

SCHEDULE 4

Rules for calculating the greenhouse gas impact of biofuels, bioliquids and their fossil fuel comparators

S.I. No. 483 of 2014

EUROPEAN UNION (RENEWABLE ENERGY) REGULATIONS 2014

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 28th October, 2014.

I, ALEX WHITE, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 20091 , hereby make the following regulations:

Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Union (Renewable Energy) Regulations 2014.

Interpretation

2. (1) In these Regulations—

“Act of 1999” means Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (No. 23 of 1999);

“actual value method” means the calculation method for greenhouse gas emissions from the production and use of biofuels or bioliquids provided for in Part C of Schedule 4;

“Agency” means National Oil Reserve Agency;

“Biofuels Obligation Act” means National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007 (No.7 of 2007) (as amended by the Energy (Biofuel Obligation and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2010 (No. 11 of 2010));

“biomass” has the meaning assigned to it by section 44A(1) (inserted by section 3 of the Energy (Biofuel Obligation and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2010 (No. 11 of 2010)) of the National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007 (No. 7 of 2007);

“CER” means Commission for Energy Regulation;

“combined method” means the calculation method for greenhouse gas emissions from the production and use of bioliquids or biofuels provided for in Part C of Schedule 4, but using one or more disaggregated default values for the bioliquids or biofuel when carrying out the calculation set out in paragraph 1 of Schedule 4;

“competent authority” other than in Regulation 15, means a body established by or under statute or a Department of State with responsibility for the administration of a support scheme or renewable energy obligation;

“continuously forested area” means land spanning more than one hectare with trees higher than five metres and a canopy cover of more than 30 per cent, or trees able to reach those thresholds in situ;

“default percentage” means—

(a) in relation to a biofuel or bioliquids described in the first column of Part A or B of Schedule 4—

(i) the corresponding percentage (if any) in the third column of Part A or B of Schedule 4, or

(ii) where there is no corresponding percentage set out in the third column of Part A or Part B of Schedule 4, the corresponding percentage set out in the second column of Part A or B of that Schedule, and

(b) in all other cases, 0 per cent;

“Directive” means Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 20091;

“Directive of 1998” means Directive 98/70/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 19982 ;

“disaggregated default value” means, in relation to bioliquids or biofuel described in the first column of a table in Part D or E of Schedule 4, the value which corresponds to that description in the third column of that table in Part D or E of that Schedule;

“disaggregated default values for cultivation” means the figures in the third column of the table entitled “Disaggregated default values for cultivation: ‘ece’ as defined in Part C of this Schedule” in Part D of Schedule 4;

“distribution” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2(1) of the Act of 1999;

“distribution system operator” means the holder of a licence under section 14(1)(g) of the Act of 1999;

“generator” means the holder of a licence under section 14(1)(a) of the Act of 1999;

“generating station” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2(1) of the Act of 1999;

“generating unit” means a unit of a generating station;

“greenhouse gas emissions from the use of fossil fuel” means the value given in paragraph 19 of Part C of Schedule 4 as the fossil fuel comparator for bioliquids or biofuels;

“guarantee of origin for high efficiency CHP” means a guarantee that electricity is produced from high efficiency cogeneration (within the meaning of section 7 of the Act of 1999);

“highly biodiverse grassland” means—

(a) in the case of natural grassland, grassland that would remain grassland in the absence of human intervention and which maintains the natural species composition and ecological characteristics and processes, or

(b) in the case of non-natural grassland, grassland that would cease to be grassland in the absence of human intervention and which is species-rich and not degraded, unless evidence is provided that the harvesting of the raw material is necessary to preserve its grassland status;

“Internal Market Regulations” means European Communities (Internal Market in Electricity) Regulations 2005 ( S.I. No. 60 of 2005 );

“less forested area” means land spanning more than one hectare with trees higher than 5 metres and a canopy cover of between 10 and 30 percent, or trees able to reach those thresholds in situ, unless evidence is provided that the carbon stock of the area before and after conversion is such that, when the methodology laid down in Part C of Schedule 4 is applied, the greenhouse gas emission savings stated in paragraph 1 of Schedule 3 would be achieved;

“market” means to distribute to or sell by wholesale or retail;

“Minister” means Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources;

“nature protection area” means an area designated—

(a) by law or by the relevant competent authority for nature protection purposes, or

(b) for the protection of rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems or species recognised by international agreements or included in lists drawn up by intergovernmental organisations or the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, subject to their recognition in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 18(4) of the Directive;

“PSO generator” means a generator that is party to a REFIT or AER Power Purchase Agreement listed in the Schedules to the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (Public Service Obligations) Order 2002 ( S.I. No. 217 of 2002 );

“public body” has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 10 of the European Communities (Energy End-Use Efficiency and Energy Services) Regulations 2009 ( S.I. No. 542 of 2009 );

“public building” means a building, or that part of a building, to which members of the public generally have access and which is occupied, managed or controlled by a public body;

“primary forest” means forest and other wooded land of native species, where there is no clearly visible indication of human activity and the ecological processes are not significantly disturbed;

“Regulations of 2012” means European Union (Biofuel Sustainability Criteria) Regulations 2012 ( S.I. No. 33 of 2012 );

“SEAI” means Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland;

“SEMO” has the meaning assigned to the Single Electricity Market Operator by section 2(1) of the Act of 1999;

“Single Electricity Market Trading and Settlement Code” means the code of that name established pursuant to section 9BA(1) of the Act of 1999 and so designated pursuant to Regulation 4 of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (Single Electricity Market) Regulations 2007 ( S.I. No. 406 of 2007 );

“supplier” means a person licensed under section 14(1)(b), (c) or (d) of the Act of 1999;

“support scheme” means a support scheme from renewable energy;

“transmission” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2(1) of the Act of 1999;

“transmission system operator” means the holder of a licence under section 14(1)(e) of the Act of 1999;

“wetland” means land that is covered with or saturated by water permanently or for a significant part of the year.

(2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Directive has, unless the contrary intention appears, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Directive.

Exemplary role of public bodies regarding public buildings

3. (1) A public body shall take such steps as it consider appropriate to ensure that a public building—

(a) constructed after 31 December 2011, or

(b) subject to major renovation after that date,

fulfils an exemplary role in the context of the Directive.

(2) A public body may consult with SEAI for the purposes of ensuring...