The Government of Moldova reconfirmed today the intention to promote the use of energy from renewable sources by extending the application period and increasing the capacities allocated to support mechanisms.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the draft decision on capacity limits, maximum quotas and capacity categories in the field of electricity from renewable sources, valid until December 31, 2030.
The draft establishes the maximum quotas by categories of power plants that can benefit from the three support mechanisms – net billing, fixed tariff and fixed price (auctions) – applied in the Republic of Moldova.
The total capacity of renewable power plants that will benefit from support is 265 MW, of which under the fixed tariff regime – 95 MW, under the fixed price regime – 170 MW, provided that storage batteries of 44 MWh are installed, and for net billing the quota will be eliminated.
The previous quotas for the net billing mechanism were set at 100 MW and distributed by types of prosumers – households, public institutions, businesses, but connection permits for approximately 125 MW have already been issued. According to the approved amendments, there will be no quotas allocated for the various types of prosumers, in order to allow a flexible and efficient application of the “net billing” mechanism, in line with the principles of market liberalization and the stimulation of decentralized electricity production from renewable sources.
Thus, in the short and medium term, investors will benefit from a more flexible framework, which will allow for the faster implementation of renewable energy projects, with a direct impact on reducing the costs associated with energy consumption.
The project does not only establish simple quantitative quotas, but also expressly includes the associated support mechanisms, fundamental for attracting investments. The quotas allocated for the fixed tariff mechanism and the fixed price mechanism are accompanied by the contractual guarantee of the purchase of energy produced by the Central Electricity Supplier for a period of 15 years, which provides investors with a stable and predictable framework for recovering investments, under competitive and transparent conditions.
Thus, the project provides for a quota of 95 MW for the fixed tariff support scheme, including cogeneration power plants using direct combustion – 55 MW, biogas power plants – 40 MW.
For the fixed price support scheme, a quota of 170 MW is provided for wind power plants provided that energy storage batteries of at least 22 MW / 44MWh are installed.
Currently, 784.09 MW are installed in Moldova in renewable power plants, of which approximately 530 MW come from photovoltaic installations. At the national level, 345 photovoltaic parks operate, along with 7,252 prosumers – citizens and economic agents who have installed photovoltaic panels for self-consumption, within the framework of net metering and billing mechanisms.
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