30.4.12

3 Energi-relatert Rettsakter på EØS-komitéen i dag

Tre rettsakter av betydning for energisektoren blir behandlet i dag 30. april 2012 av EØS-komitéen. Disse gjelder:
  • Rådsdirektivet 2008/114/EF av 8. desember 2008 om identifisering og utpeking av europeisk kritisk infrasktruktur og vurdering av behovet for å beskytte den bedre (EPCIP-direktivet) (Ansvarlig: Justis- og beredskapsdepartementet, JD). I brevet til Stortingets Europautvalg (p. 38 et seq), skriver UD at: 

"JD har vurdert fire ulike modeller for implementering av EPCIP- direktivet, nærmere bestemt implementering gjennom en eksisterende lov, en fellesforskrift fastsatt med hjemmel i de sentrale sektorlovene på området, en systematisk innarbeiding av nødvendige bestemmelser i eksisterende sektorlover og -forskrifter eller en samlet implementering i en egen lov om europeisk kritisk infrastruktur. De ulike implementeringsmodellene er tidligere blitt kommunisert til berørte departementer gjennom Spesialutvalget for samfunnssikkerhet.
... Sivilbeskyttelseslovens formål er sammenfallende med direktivets formål om å beskytte sivilbefolkningen. Det er gjennomgående store likheter mellom sikkerhetsloven og reglene i EPCIP direktivet, og det er også delvis sammenfall mellom formålet i sikkerhetsloven og direktivet.
... Per i dag er det transport og energi som omfattes av direktivet.
... Rettsakten er vurdert av spesialutvalget for samfunnssikkerhet og funnet EØS-relevant og akseptabel."

"Beslutningen knytter seg til direktiv 1999/32/EF om reduksjon av svovelinnholdet i visse flytende brennstoffer som endret ved direktiv 2005/33/EF (direktivet). Direktivets artikkel 4b fastsetter at svovelinnholdet i drivstoff som brukes av skip når det ligger til kai ikke skal overstige 0,1 vektprosent. Direktivets artikkel 4c nr. 3 gir Kommisjonen hjemmel til å fastsette kriterier for bruk av alternative metoder skip kan benytte for å oppfylle dette kravet. Gjeldende beslutning hjemler en slik alternativ metode.
Beslutningen gjelder kun skip som frakter LNG (LNG-skip). Beslutningens art. 2 fastsetter at LNG-skip, når de ligger til kai, kan benytte seg av en alternativ metode for å tilfredsstille direktivets krav til utslipp av svovel.
...Direktivets krav til utslipp av svovel når skip ligger til kai er strengere enn de internasjonale kravene som hjemles i MARPOL 73/78 konvensjonen (Norge er avtalepart).... En implementering av kommisjonsbeslutning vil medføre endringer i norsk regelverk.
... Skip som benytter seg av den alternative metoden får krav til detaljert loggføring av type og kvalitet på drivstoff ombord, samt krav til utstyr for kontinuerlig overvåking og måling av forbruket av avgasser og marin gassolje, jfr. art. 4. Dette vil kunne innebære noe økte kostnader for skip som vil benytte metoden.
... Hvorvidt dette er en ordning som vil bli benyttet av norsk næring avhenger av hvordan skipene er utstyrt for å bruke lette oljer, samt hva det totale kostnadsbildet blir.
... Under norsk flagg er det grovt anslått 500 skip denne beslutningen kan være aktuelt for.
Det stilles krav til tilstrekkelig overvåking og kontroll fra medlemsstatene, jfr. art. 5. Dette vil innebære noe arbeidsbyrde for Sjøfartsdirektoratet i form av at det er et nytt forhold å undersøke.
Spesialutvalget fant rettsakten EØS-relevant og akseptabel."


"CHP-direktivet (direktiv 2004/8/EF), av 11. februar 2004, har som formål å forbedre energieffektivitet og forsyningssikkerhet ved å fremme høyeffektiv kombinert kraft- og varmeproduksjon (kogenerering) der det er en nyttbar varmeetterspørsel.
Kommisjonens vedtak 2008/952/EF er en beregningsteknisk oppfølging av CHP-direktivet. Kommisjonsvedtaket etablerer detaljerte retingslinjer for gjennomføring og anvendelse av Annex II i CHP-direkrivet og skal sikre en harmonisert metode for å beregne mengden av elektrisitet fra kraft- og varmeproduksjon. Vedtaket presenterer detaljerte retningslinjer for å beregne kraftmengde som er produseres på en energieffektiv måte i CHP-anlegg. Dette vil muliggjøre tildeling av opprinnelsesgarantier på hele eller deler av produksjonen. Kommisjonsvedtaket innebærer en klargjøring av systemgrensene rundt CHP-anlegg og klargjør beregningene av "CHP-elektrisitet" for anlegg som kan kjøres som både CHP-anlegg og konvensjonelt anlegg.

... Rettsakten er behandlet i spesialutvalget for energi og funnet EØS-relevant og akseptabel." (Min understrekning.)



25.4.12

Statoil Presents its 2011 Report on Oil Sands Activities in Canada

The Norwegian oil and gas company Statoil has released today its annual report reviewing its oil sands activities in Canada in 2011, so-called "2011 Oil Sands Report Card". According to the information package published by the company, the report presents performance indicators which measure production and energy consumption as well as emissions and quality and use of air, water and land at the Leismer Demonstration Project and in the Kai Kos Dehseh (KKD) leases in northern Alberta. Production at the Leismer facility started in January 2011.

Access the full report.

24.4.12

Non-Paper on the Energy Efficiency Directive: Commission Tries to save its Original Proposal

The European Commission has published today, 24 April 2012, a "non-paper" drafted by its services concerning the proposal for an Energy Efficiency Directive. The non-paper reflects the state of play of the discussions on the proposal for directive ahead of the Informal Energy Meeting of EU Ministers of 19-20 April 2012 (although the document was publicly released after the meeting). The non-paper presents new estimates in terms of reduced primary energy consumption based on the Council's version of the proposed directive dated 4 April 2012

Without saying it, the Commission's staff tries to demonstrate that the Council's version of the text will only reach a third of the original objectives:


"The Council's version of the Directive is thus estimated to reduce primary energy consumption by about 58.1 Mtoe while the Commission's proposal would deliver a savings of 151.5 Mtoe, which is needed to close the gap (along with measures in the transport sector) to achieve the 20% target. The impact of the Council version would therefore represent 38% of the expected impact of the Commission's proposal."

The proposal for a directive has been adopted by the Commission on 22 June 2011, and the ITRE Committee of the European Parliament has adopted a draft report on 4 October 2011. The Council is to examine again the proposal on 15 June 2012, and the Parliament is expected to vote in 1st reading on 2 July 2012, depending on the negotiations at the Council. It is an objective of the Danish Government to finalise the negotiations on the proposal before the end of its presidency of the EU.

23.4.12

Elsertifikater: status for søknadsbehandling per 23.04.12 (NVE)

Norges vassdrags- og energidirektorat (NVE) har publisert 23. april 2012 en oppdatering av antall tilsendt og godkjente søknader under elsertifikatordninger per den dagen. NVE melder at 28 kraftverk har blitt godkjent for tildeling av elsertifikater. Dette  følger flere uttalelser fra NVE som varslet en nøyaktig vurdering av søknader (jf. forrige notat her). 

Antall godkjente søknader: 28
Installert effekt, totalt: 25 MW
Midlere produksjon, totalt: 83 GWh/år

Antall avslåtte søknader: 2
Antall ubehandlede sæknader: 142

Det er totalt 171 vannkraftverk og ett vindkraftverk som har søkt om godkjenning for rett til elsertifikater. Alle gokjente og avslætte søknader er vannkraftverk.

22.4.12

Clean Energy Ministerial, third edition (CEM3), 25-26 April 2012 (London)

The third edition of the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM3) will take place in Kondon (UK) on 25-26 April 2012. The conference focuses on transition to clean energy technologies, and related initiatives (best practices, cooperation,etc.). CEM was initiated by U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu at the 2009 UNFCCC COP/CMP in Copenhagen, with the idea of gathering ministers responsible for clean energy technologies from the major world economies, as well as ministers from a selected number of smaller countries with leading expertise in the field. The objective pursued by CEM meetings is to "serve as an important platform to advance international collaboration to accelerate the adoption of clean energy technologies worldwide." 

CEM1 was organised in the US. In 2012, CEM3 gathers 23 leaders from around the globe. The public agenda is available here

CEM's work focuses mainly on 3 areas and includes related 11 clean energy initiatives:
  1. improve energy efficiency worldwide
    1. Electric Vehicles Initiative (EVI)
    2. the Global Superior Energy Performance Partnership (GSEP)
    3. the Super-Efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment (SEAD) Initiative
  2. enhance clean energy supply
    1. Bioenergy Working Group
    2. Carbon Capture, Use and Storage Action Group (CCUS)
    3. Multilateral Solar and Wind Working Group
    4. Sustainable Development of Hydropower Initiative
  3. expand clean energy access ("crosscutting")
    1. Clean Energy Education & Empowerment (C3E) wormen's initiative
    2. Clean Energy Solutions Center
    3. International Smart Grid Action Network
    4. Solar and LED Energy Access Program (SLED)

CEM3 will be co-chaired by UK and U.S. officials: UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Edward Davey, and U.S. Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu. These two are set to sign an agreement on the joint development of floating wind turbine platforms (see article Windpower monthly), two countries which do not possess any such projects for the moment contrary to Norwegian company Statoil and its Hywind floating turbine.

The first prototype of the Global Renewable Energy Atlas will be officially presented in parallel to CEM3, together with a series of projects and reports. It builds on the results from the Multilateral Working Groupd on Solar and Wind Technologies.

Around CEM3 - Side Events will be associated to CEM3. CEM3 On 24 April, the High-Level Group on Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) will hold its meeting. CEM3 is also preceded and followed by a series of meetings of more public nature than the CEM3 itself, include those organised by the Multilateral Working Group on Solar and Wind Energy Technologies (MWGSW), Clean Energy Education & Empowerment (C3E) Women's Initiative

CEM4 (2013) will be organised by India in New Delhi, and CEM5 (2014) by South Korea, in Seoul.

21.4.12

Argentina, Repsol and YPF: European Parliament Adopts Resolution on Legal Security of European Investments outside the EU (quotes)

As announced in a previous post, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on 20 April 2012 in reaction to the announcement by Argentina's government to expropriate and nationalise the major stake of the oil company YPF in which the Spanish company Repsol holds a majority share. As the measure is expected to only be the first of several ones, the European Parliament has adopted a broader perspective in its resolution addressing the legal security of European investments outside the European Union.

In the resolution (P7_TA-PROV(2012)0143), provisional version available here, at p.38), the Parliament:

REFERS TO the existing legal and political framework (among others):

  • Commission's proposal for a regulation establishing transitional arrangements for bilateral investment agreements between Member States and third countries (grandfathering regulation) (COM(2010)0344);
  • Commission communication of 7 July 2010 entitled "Towards a comprehensive European international investment policy" (COM(2010)0343);
  • WTO Joint Statement of 30 March 2012 on Argentina's Import Restricting Policies and Practices;
  • past G20 declarations, and in particular commitments to fight protectionism;
  • Agreements on the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments signed between Argentina and Spain and a number of other EU Member States;
  • undergoing negotiations on an inter-regional Association Agreement between the EU and Mercosur, and in particular the Free Trade Agreement (FTA);

TAKES NOTE of the following factual elements as to the Argentine government decisions (among others):

  • A.  whereas Article 207 of the TFEU establishes that European investments in third countries are a fundamental element of the Common Trade Policy of the European Union and are consequently an intrinsic part of its external action policy and whereas under the Treaty of Lisbon foreign direct investment (FDI) is an exclusive EU competence, as enshrined in Articles 3(1)(e), 206 and 207 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU);
  • B.  whereas the Union has begun to exercise this competence with ongoing negotiations for investment agreements with India, Singapore and Canada, and proposals for negotiating mandates with Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan and Egypt;
  • D.  whereas EU investments in Argentina are protected by Member State bilateral investment agreements, where they exist, and whereas18 Member States currently have agreements in force with Argentina;
  • G.  whereas over the last few months, the company [YPF/Repsol] has been the target of a public harassment campaign that, together with many decisions taken by the administrative authorities, has resulted in the loss in value of its shares with repercussions for all its shareholders and companies associated with it;
  • J.  whereas the Republic of Argentina, as a full member of Mercosur, is currently negotiating an Association Agreement with the EU;
  • K. whereas, in spite of these negotiations, the Commission has noted in its Trade and Investment Barrier Reports that Argentina has adopted a number of protectionist measures which have caused deterioration in the business climate for EU investors in Argentina;
  • L. whereas the European Commission has expressed its concern on many occasions to the WTO with regard to the nature and application of the restrictive measures applied to imports by the Argentine Government which have affected an ever-increasing number of countries that are part of the World Trade Organisation;
  • M.  whereas the Republic of Argentina has traditionally benefited from the generalised system of preferences (GSP) unilaterally granted by the EU;
  • N.  whereas Argentina, as a member of the G20, has committed itself at each G20 summit to fighting protectionism and keeping markets open to trade and investment;


TAKES THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS (among others):
  • 1. Deplores the decision taken by the Argentine Government, disregarding a negotiated solution, to proceed with the expropriation of the majority of shares of a European company; maintains that this represents a unilateral and arbitrary decision which entails an attack on the exercise of free enterprise and the principle of legal certainty, thus causing the investment environment for EU businesses in Argentina to deteriorate;
  • 2. Notes that this decision affects only one undertaking in the sector and only part of its shares, which could be considered discriminatory;
  • 3. Expresses its deep concerns regarding the situation as it represents the non-fulfilment of obligations under international agreements; warns about the negative effects that such measures might have, such as international disinvestment and adverse consequences for Argentina in the international community; [...] 
  • 5. Regrets that Argentina has not respected this principle and has introduced several restrictive trade and investment measures, such as non-tariff barriers, which have hampered EU businesses and global trade with Argentina;
  • 6. Calls on the Commission to respond to these restrictions using all the appropriate dispute settlement tools available at the World Trade Organisation and the G20 to cooperate with other countries facing similar discriminatory barriers to trade and investment;

19.4.12

Carbon Leakage: EU Commission to Adopt State Aids Guidelines by mid-June 2012


In the framework of the revised EU Emissions Trading scheme (EU ETS) established by Directive 2003/87/EC, the amending Directive 2009/29/EC defines a set of new provisions on carbon leakage.


Carbon leakage relates to a situation where the additional constraints put on European industries as a consequence of the more stringent EU climate change obligations may affect their competitive situation and lead to re-localisation in countries without such constraints.

Pursuant to Article 10 a.15 of the revised EU ETS Directive, a sector or sub-sector is "deemed to be exposed to a significant risk of carbon leakage" if:
  • "the sum of direct and indirect additional costs induced by the implementation of this directive would lead to a substantial increase of production cost, calculated as a proportion of the Gross Value Added, of at least 5%; and
  • the Non-EU Trade intensity defined as the ratio between total of value of exports to non EU + value of imports from non-EU and the total market size for the Community (annual turnover plus total imports is above 10%)."
Supplementary criteria are set in the directive.

Amending Directive 2009/29/EC defines mainly two alternatives to tackle the risk of carbon leakage:
  1. free allowances for the sectors exposed (as an exception to the main rule of full auctioning in next trading period);
  2. additional financial compensation in the form of state aids for the sectors exposed (at stake below).
Article 10 a) 6) of the revised EU ETS Directive provides for the possibility for Member States to compensate the most electro-intensive sectors for increases in electricity costs resulting from the EU ETS through national state aid schemes. The provision reads as follows:
"6. Member States may also adopt financial measures in favour of sectors or subsectors determined to be exposed to a significant risk of carbon leakage due to costs relating to greenhouse gas emissions passed on in electricity prices, in order to compensate for those costs and where such financial measures are in accordance with state aid rules applicable and to be adopted in this area.

Those measures shall be based on ex-ante benchmarks of the indirect emissions of CO2 per unit of production. The ex-ante benchmarks shall be calculated for a given sector or subsector as the product of the electricity consumption per unit of production corresponding to the most efficient available technologies and of the CO2 emissions of the relevant European electricity production mix."
As a consequence, the Commission is supposed to modify the Environmental State Aid Guidelines. It has proceeded to two consultations rounds in 2011 and 2012 on draft state aid guidelines, which raised a huge interest from the stakeholders. Guidelines might not to be legally binding, but they set an important framework in the treatment of state aids measures by the European Commission, and its appraisal of the compatibility criteria under Article 107(1) of the TFEU.

Four types of state aid measures were foreseen by the Commission in its 2012 public consultation:

  1. aid to compensate increases in electricity prices resulting from the inclusion of the costs of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to EU ETS;
  2. investment aid to highly efficient power plants, including new energy power plants which are ready for the environmentally safe capture and geological storage of carbon dioxide (CCS-ready);
  3. optional transitional free allocation in the electricity sector in some Member States;
  4. exclusion of certain small installations from the EU ETS if the GHG reductions can be achieved outside the framework of the EU ETS at lower administrative cost.

According to ENDS Europe, the European Commission will adopt the new guidelines by mid-June 2012

18.4.12

Argentina to Expropriate Repsol's Shares in YPF Oil Company: New Return of Resource Nationalism in Latin America

On 16 April 2012, Argentina's President, Cristina Fernàndez de Kirchner, announced the decision taken by the government to expropriate and nationalise by legislative means the major stake (51%) of the oil company YPF, in which the Spanish company Repsol holds a 57,43% share. YPF was privatised in 1999. The measure was widely supported at domestic level, in a country experiencing both an economic and social crisis. However, the measure was heavily criticised in Europe. Other sources also confirm that the Chinese state-owned company Sinopec had proposed to buy YPF. Argentina's Congress will have now to examine the controversial bill. 

(Complete speech of the announcement of the nationalisation/expropriation. Click on the picture. In Spanish)

As summarised by BBC News, the "official" objective of the measure is to answer national concerns as to YPF management of petroleum resources: lack of investments, poor marketing/export policy, failure to get concessions in major oil fields. Officials argue that this has resulted in an efficient management of the national petroleum resources. Although the regulatory framework for investments in the petroleum sector in Argentina is not viewed as particularly attractive, the reserves are huge and include recent discoveries of shale gas and oil shale (see analysis by U.S. Energy Information Administration).

HR/VP Catherine Ashton rapidly commented the announcement on the behalf of the European Union (EU) in the following terms:
"This announcement is cause for grave concern. YPF is an important European Union investment in Argentina ... The measure creates legal insecurity for all European Union and foreign firms in the country. I am also alarmed to note that the President referred, in her speech, to investments in other sectors such as telecoms and banking. ... The Government of Argentina must ensure compliance with its international commitments on the treatment and protection of investments originating from the European Union. As a result of this announcement, we have decided to postpone the EU-Argentina Joint Cooperation Committee which had been scheduled to take place on Friday this week. ... The Spanish government has our full backing in this matter." (MEMO/12/254)
The European Parliament holds a debate today, 18 April 2012, and will adopt a resolution on Friday 20 April. Indeed, the decision of the Argentinian government may have direct consequences for the EU, in particular in relation to security of energy supply and revenues earned by the European company. The Parliament is set to discuss mainly the legal security of European investments outside the EU.

In addition to political and diplomatic measures, the core element of the dispute will be of legal nature. The legality of the expropriation measure, and in particular compliance with rules on protection of foreign investments and sovereignty over natural resources, will be central arguments for both sides. They can build on recent legal practice on that. Several governments have taken expropriation measures in the energy sector during the last decades. Such moves can to a certain extent find justification in the principle of sovereignty over national resources defined in public international law. Several cases can be mentioned: Libya, Venezuela, Bolivia (among others). In accordance with UNGA Resolution 1803 (XVII), expropriated companies can get an appropriate financial compensation in case of expropriation, and Repsol has already mentioned claims of more than $10 billion.

The efforts reiterated by President Fernàndez de Kirchner at the Summit of the Americas held in Colombia last week to get support as to the jurisdiction dispute with the United Kingdom concerning the Falkland Islands is among other things related to energy interests, after petroleum discoveries were made in the area.

ReferencesLas frases de Critina Fernàndez, 17 April 2012, El País (in Spanish)

5.4.12

Chronique: "Système d'échange de quotas d'émission post-2012 : analyse du projet d'ordonnance" (France)

Vous pouvez desormais lire sur le site de Actu-Environnement une chronique écrite conjointement avec Sarah Nataf du Cabinet Gossement Enckel (Paris) et moi-même du cabinet d'avocats SIMONSEN (Oslo) et intitulee:


"Le Ministère de l'écologie, du développement durable, des transports et du logement a récemment soumis à consultation publique trois textes visant à la révision du système d'échange de quotas d'émission de gaz à effet de serre news (SEQE). La révision s'opérera en France par l'adoption d'une ordonnance, d'un décret et d'un arrêté.
La nécessité de réviser le système d'échange post-2012
Depuis son commencement en janvier 2005, le SEQE n'a cessé d'être adapté afin de mieux servir ses objectifs et renforcer ce qui reste l'instrument central de l'Union Européenne en matière de lutte contre le changement climatique dans le secteur industriel. Le SEQE est ..." 
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