Moldova to facilitate the process of obtaining connection permits for owners of power plants operating on renewable sources
The Moldovan Commission for Emergency Situations adopted this decision. As reported by the Ministry of Energy, the Commission for Emergency Situations decided to simplify the process of obtaining grid connection permits. This decision was adopted in order to strengthen the utilization of all available renewable energy production capacities, given the significant impact of renewable energy sources in covering energy consumption. Thus, those companies that have completed at least the approval stage of the execution procedure will receive connection authorizations from the system operators by 10.02.2025, depending on the available capacity in the network. The decision has been agreed with the main industry associations and applies to all those who do not yet have a valid interconnection notification but have had one in the past, as well as to prosumers. It refers to many companies that have already installed renewable energy with a total capacity of 31 MW, of which 23.5 MW also have valid connection permits and 7.5 MW are physically ready to generate renewable electricity but do not have connection permits. With the commissioning of these power plants, Moldova will exceed the threshold of 600 MW of generation capacity from renewable sources, which is more than twice the capacity of the thermal power plants in Chisinau and Balti. At the same time, the Ministry of Energy is urgently preparing draft amendments to the Law on Electricity, which will provide for a mechanism to increase the responsibility of connection permit holders. This mechanism provides for the introduction of a financial guarantee, the amount of which will be set by the National Agency for Energy Regulation. Currently, the transmission system operator Moldelectrica issues licenses for the installation of about 1500 MW of new capacity, mostly from renewable energy sources. However, less than 10% of these connection licenses are put into operation each year. This limits the opportunities for investors with real intentions to develop renewable energy power plants. Regarding the situation of distribution system operators, Premier Energy Distribution is currently issued connection licenses for a total capacity of 329 MW and RED Nord for about 96.4 MW. The changes proposed by the Ministry of Energy include the obligation to provide financial guarantees when requesting notification for connection of power plants with a capacity of more than 200 kW. The guarantees will only be reimbursed if the power plant is commissioned according to the connection notification. If the plant is not commissioned within the deadline, the financial guarantee will be used by the system operator to modernize the power grid. These measures are designed to unlock grid capacity for real investors who have the necessary resources and intend to implement green energy projects. // 17.01.2025 - InfoMarket.
