Energy, Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Legislation

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Thursday, 28.03.2024, 10:11

Estonian official: nobody objecting to EU’s CO2 limit on power plant subsidies

BC, Tallinn, 18.10.2017.Print version
The European Commission's proposal for a carbon dioxide limit on power plant subsidies is supported by the Council of Ministers, and now the issue is more how it can be managed, Estonia's chief energy official told Euractiv, reports LETA/BNS.

Ando Leppiman, deputy secretary general for energy at the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, said that member states don't object to the Commission's recent proposal for a carbon dioxide limit for capacity mechanisms of 550 grams per kilowatt-hour.

 

"Yes. Nobody is objecting to the target as such. The issue is rather how it can be managed," he said, responding to a question if the presidency was still working with the 550g CO2 per kWh limit.

 

"The Estonian presidency represents the interests of all member states and has to find the proper balance between them. We have proposed a compromise that there should be a limit on the number of working hours when the capacity mechanisms can occur," Leppiman said.

 

He said that could lead to an even better result in terms of emissions, but it will also preserve the strategic importance of the reserves.

 

"This our current proposal, but the question is further discussed in the Council working group. This is one of the most political issues and there is no easy solution," the official added.

 

The 550 gram emissions performance standard rule proposed by the European Commission in November as part of the Clean Energy Package implies that newer, more efficient gas and coal fired power plants would still be able to obtain subsidies. The rule would apply instantly to all new generating capacities and to older capacities five years later.






Search site