S.L. 545.43 Art. 22Support schemes for energy from renewable sources.                   S.L. 427.64.

(1) Support schemes applied to aid the achievement of Malta’s contribution referred to in sub-regulation (1) of regulation 3

shall comply with this regulation.

(2) Support schemes for electricity from renewable sources shall provide incentives for the integration of electricity from renewable sources in the electricity market in a market-based and market-responsive way, and shall avoid unnecessary distortions of electricity markets while taking into account possible system integration costs and grid stability.

(3) Support schemes for electricity from renewable sources shall be designed so as to maximise the integration of electricity from renewable sources in the electricity market and to ensure that renewable energy producers are responding to market price signals and maximise their market revenues.

(4) Where support schemes referred to in sub-regulation (3) are direct price support schemes, support shall be granted in the form of a market premium, which could be, sliding or fixed. inter alia,

(5) Sub-regulation (4) shall not apply to support for electricity from the sources listed in Article 19d(4) of Regulation (EU) 2019/943, to which Article 19d(1) of the said Regulation applies.

(6) Small-scale installations and demonstration projects may be exempted from the provisions of sub-regulations (3) to (5), without prejudice to the applicable Union law on the internal market for electricity.

(7) Support for electricity from renewable sources shall be granted in an open, transparent, competitive, non-discriminatory and cost-effective manner.

(8) Small-scale installations and demonstration projects may be exempted from tendering procedures.

(9) The Minister may consider establishing mechanisms to ensure cost-efficient system integration.

(10) Tendering procedures may be limited to specific technologies where opening support schemes to all producers of electricity from renewable sources would lead to a suboptimal result, SOURCES

in view of:

(a) the long-term potential of a particular technology;

(b) the need to achieve diversification;

(c) grid integration costs;

(d) network constraints and grid stability; and

(e) for biomass, the need to avoid distortions of raw materials markets.

(11) Where support for electricity from renewable sources is granted by means of a tendering procedure, in order to ensure a high project realisation rate the following shall apply:

(a) non-discriminatory and transparent criteria to qualify for the tendering procedure shall be established and published, setting clear dates and rules for delivery of the project; and

(b) information about previous tendering procedures, including project realisation rates shall be published.

(12) In order to benefit from support schemes and to be eligible under public procurement any renewable energy equipment and systems shall meet the technical specifications established in the relative documentation of the rules applicable to such support scheme, or of the tendering process:

Provided 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

(13) The technical specifications referred to in sub-regulation

(12) shall be expressed in terms of harmonised standards or European standards including technical reference systems established by the

European standardisation organisations, where such standards exist:

Provided that precedence in the application of harmonised standards shall be given to those harmonised standards, the references of which have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union in support of Union law, including Regulation

(EU) 2017/1369 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4

July 2017 setting a framework for energy labelling and repealing

Directive 2010/30/EU, and the Framework for the Setting of

Ecodesign Requirements for Energy-Related Products Regulations, followed by other harmonised standards and European standards.

(14) Support schemes granting financial support to renewable energy producers shall either preclude the entitlement to a guarantee of origin in respect of the supported renewable energy produced, or shall appropriately take into account the market value of the guarantee of origin for the same production:

Provided that it shall be presumed that the market value of the guarantee of origin has been appropriately taken into account in any of the following cases:

(a) where the financial support is granted by way of a tendering procedure or a tradable green certificate system;

(b) where the market value of the guarantees of origin is administratively taken into account in the level of financial support; or

(c) where the guarantees of origin are not issued directly to the producer but to a supplier or consumer who buys the energy either in a competitive setting or in a long-term renewables power purchase agreement:

Provided further that in order to take into account the market value of the guarantee of origin, the rules applicable to any specific support schemes may allow for guarantees of origin to be issued to the producer and immediately cancelled.

(15) This regulation shall be applied by all Ministries and entities which issue support schemes for renewable energy and shall furthermore be applied without prejudice to Articles 107 and 108 TFEU.