S.L. 545.35 Art. 18Administrative procedures, regulations and codes.           S.L. 513.01            S.L. 513.01.            S.L. 513.01.       S.L. 545.33.

(1) Any national rules concerning the authorisation, certification and licensing procedures that are applied to:

(a) plants and associated transmission and distribution networks for the production of electricity, heating or cooling from renewable sources;

(b) the process of transformation of biomass into biofuels, bioliquids, biomass fuels or other energy products; and

(c) to renewable liquid and gaseous transport fuels of non-biological origin;

shall be proportionate and necessary and contribute to the implementation of the energy efficiency first principle.

(2) The Regulator and the Planning Authority shall, in particular, take the appropriate steps to ensure that:

(a) administrative procedures are streamlined and expedited at the appropriate administrative level and predictable timeframes are established for the procedures referred to in the sub-regulation (1);

(b) rules concerning authorisation, certification and licensing are objective, transparent and proportionate, do not discriminate between applicants and take fully into account the particularities of individual renewable energy technologies;

(c) administrative charges paid by consumers, planners, builders and equipment and system installers periti, and suppliers are transparent and cost-related; and

(d) simplified and less burdensome authorisation procedures, including a simple-notification procedure, are established for decentralised devices, and for producing and storing energy from renewable sources.

(3) The Minister, where necessary in consultation with the Regulator, shall clearly define any technical specifications which are to be met by renewable energy equipment and systems in order to benefit from support schemes:

Provided that where European standards exist, including eco-labels, energy labels and other technical reference systems established by the European standardisation bodies, such technical specifications shall be expressed in terms of those standards:

Provided further that such technical specifications shall not prescribe where the equipment and systems are to be certified and shall not impede the proper functioning of the internal market.

(4) The Minister shall undertake the necessary coordination with the relevant Ministries as necessary such that provisions may be made by the relevant authorities for the integration and deployment of renewable energy, including for renewables self-consumption and renewable energy communities, and the use of unavoidable waste heat and cold when planning, including early spatial planning, designing, building and renovating urban infrastructure, industrial, commercial or residential areas and energy infrastructure, including electricity, district heating and cooling, natural gas and alternative fuel networks. The Minister shall, in particular, coordinate with the relevant Ministries as necessary such that relevant authorities are encouraged to include heating and cooling from renewable sources in the planning of city infrastructure where appropriate, and to consult the network operators to reflect the impact of energy efficiency and demand response programs as well as specific provisions on renewables self-consumption and renewable energy communities, on the infrastructure development plans of the operators.

(5) The Building and Construction Authority shall introduce appropriate measures in their building regulations and codes in order to increase the share of all kinds of energy from renewable sources in the building sector.

(6) In establishing the measures referred to in sub-regulation

(5) or in their support schemes, the Building and Construction Authority or the Minister, as the case may be, may take into account, where applicable, national measures relating to substantial increases in renewables self-consumption, in local energy storage and in energy efficiency, relating to cogeneration and relating to passive, low-energy or zero-energy buildings.

(7) The Building and Construction Authority in its building regulations and codes, or other competent authorities by other means with equivalent effect, shall require the use of minimum levels of energy from renewable sources in new buildings and in existing buildings that are subject to major renovation in so far as technically, functionally and economically feasible, and reflecting the results of the cost-optimal calculation carried out pursuant to sub-regulation (2)

of regulation 6 of the Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations and in so far as this does not negatively affect indoor air quality.

(8) It shall be permitted for the minimum levels referred to in sub-regulation (7) to be fulfilled, through efficient district inter alia, heating and cooling using a significant share of renewable energy and waste heat and cold.

(9) The requirements laid down in sub-regulation (5) shall apply to the armed forces only to the extent that their application does not cause any conflict with the nature and primary aim of the activities of the armed forces and with the exception of material used exclusively for military purposes.

(10) The Building and Construction Authority shall ensure that new public buildings, and existing public buildings that are subject to major renovation, at national, regional and local level, fulfil an exemplary role in the context of these regulations from 1 January

2012:

Provided that the obligation may, be fulfilled inter alia, by complying with nearly zero-energy building provisions as required in the Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations, or, by coordinating with the Lands Authority to provide for the roofs of public or mixed private-public buildings to be used by third parties for installations that produce energy from renewable sources.

(11) In drafting building regulations and codes, the Building and Construction Authority shall promote the use of renewable heating and cooling systems and equipment that achieve a significant reduction of energy consumption:

Provided that use shall be made of energy or eco-labels or other appropriate certificates or standards developed at national or

Union level, where these exist, and, the provision of adequate information and advice on renewable, highly energy efficient alternatives as well as eventual financial instruments and incentives available in the case of replacement, with a view to promoting an increased replacement rate of old heating systems and an increased switch to solutions based on renewable energy in accordance with the

Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations shall be ensured.

(12) The Minister shall carry out an assessment of the potential of energy from renewable sources and of the use of waste heat and cold in the heating and cooling sector.

(13) The assessment referred to in sub-regulation (12) shall, where appropriate, include spatial analysis of areas suitable for low-

ecological-risk deployment and the potential for small-scale household projects and shall be included in the second comprehensive assessment required pursuant to the Energy Efficiency Regulations for the first time by 31 December 2020 and in the subsequent updates of the comprehensive assessments.

(14) The Minister shall assess the regulatory and administrative barriers to long-term renewables power purchase agreements, and shall remove unjustified barriers to, and facilitate the uptake of, such agreements, whilst ensuring that those agreements are not subject to disproportionate or discriminatory procedures or charges.

(15) Policies and measures facilitating the uptake of renewables power purchase agreements shall be described in Malta’s integrated national energy and climate plans and progress reports pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/1999.

(16) Sub-regulations (14) and (15) shall be without prejudice to the exercise of the derogations granted under Article 66 of Directive

(EU) 2019/944 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on common rules for the internal market for electricity and amending Directive 2012/27/EU (recast).