Feed-in tariff
Updated: 18.01.2019
Author: Cristina Blajin
Power plants with a capacity between 10 kW and the capacity limits defined by the Government for each technology will benefit from a guaranteed feed-in-tariff upon qualifying as eligible producers (art. 34 par. 1 letter b) Law. No 10/2016 as referred to in art. 1 par. 20 Law No. 35/2018). The capacity limits for each type of technology were approved in 2018 for 2 years (until 2020) and are as follows: 4 MW for wind power plants and 1 MW for PV, CHP plants based on biomass and biogas as well as hydro power plants (Decision No. 689, Annex). The feed-in tariffs are determined and approved by the National Energy Regulatory Authority, depending on the type and capacity of the power plant, so that the net present value (NPV) of the project calculated for a period of 15 years is zero (15 years payback time).
Eligible technologies
Only power plants with a capacity between 10 kW and the capacity limit defined by the Government are eligible for feed-in-tariffs support scheme. According to the renewable Law No. 10/2016, all types of renewable energy technologies are eligible (art. 21 par. 1 Law No. 10/2016). However, the capacity limits were only defined for wind, biomass and biogas CHPs and hydro power plants. Furthermore, in order to obtain the status of eligible producer, the technology used for electricity generation should not exceed 36 months from the day of fabrication to day of commissioning (art. 36 par. 5 Law No. 10/2016).
| Wind energy | Wind power plants exceeding 4 MW are eligible for tenders. The law does not distinguish between on- and offshore wind power. |
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| Geothermal energy | Eligible. |
| Biogas | Eligible. Biogas, gas produced from digestion of waste and gas produced from digestion of sewage sludge are eligible (Art. 5 par. 3 lit. e) in conjunction with Art. 3 Law No. 160/2007). |
| Hydro-power | Eligible. |
| Biomass | Eligible. Only power technologies with a conversion efficiency of minimum 85% for household and commercial applications and 70% for industrial applications will be eligible (art. 24 par. 3 Law No. 10/2016). |
Amount
The feed-in tariffs are determined and approved annually by the National Energy Regulatory Authority, separately for each technology. The value is calculated based on the levelized cost of electricity method, so that during the 15 years period in which the producers will have the right to sell the whole amount of its produced electricity, the NPV of the project will be zero (payback time of 15 years) (Item 5 of the Methodology approved by the Decision No. 375/2017). For calculating the feed-in-tariff using the method described above, the following parameters are taken into consideration:
- Technology-specific investment
- Yearly average variable as well as fixed operation and maintenance costs
- Capacity factor for each specific technology
| Wind energy | The feed-in-tariff for wind power plants is calculated yearly by ANRE taking into consideration the specific investment needs for wind technology, its specific operation and maintenance costs as well as specific capacity factor. The technology will benefit from the feed-in-tariff calculated for the year in which the producer obtained the status of eligible producer. |
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| Solar energy | The feed-in-tariff for solar power plants is calculated yearly by ANRE taking into consideration the specific investment needs for solar technology, its specific operation and maintenance costs as well as specific capacity factor. The technology will benefit from the feed-in-tariff calculated for the year in which the producer obtained the status of eligible producer. |
| Hydro-power | The feed-in-tariff for hydro-power plants is calculated yearly by ANRE taking into consideration the specific investment needs for hydro-power technology, its specific operation and maintenance costs as well as specific capacity factor. The technology will benefit from the feed-in-tariff calculated for the year in which the producer obtained the status of eligible producer. |
| Biomass | The feed-in-tariff for biomass power plants is calculated yearly by ANRE taking into consideration the specific investment needs for biomass technology, its specific operation and maintenance costs as well as specific capacity factor. The technology will benefit from the feed-in-tariff calculated for the year in which the producer obtained the status of eligible producer. CHP plants operating on biomass are only eligible is their efficiency if higher than 80% (art. 36 par. 5 Law no. 10/2016). |
| Biogas | The feed-in-tariff for biogas power plants is calculated yearly by ANRE taking into consideration the specific investment needs for biogas technology, its specific operation and maintenance costs as well as specific capacity factor. The technology will benefit from the feed-in-tariff calculated for the year in which the producer obtained the status of eligible producer. |
| Geothermal energy | The feed-in-tariff for geothermal power plants is calculated yearly by ANRE taking into consideration the specific investment needs for geothermal technology, its specific operation and maintenance costs as well as specific capacity factor. The technology will benefit from the feed-in-tariff calculated for the year in which the producer obtained the status of eligible producer. |
Addressees
Entitled party: The persons entitled are the plant operators who has obtained to status of eligible producer.
Obligated party: The central energy supplier, which is designated by the Government, is obliged to buy the whole amount of electricity produced from eligible producers on a fixed feed-in-tariff (art. 30 par. 2 Law No. 10/2016)
Procedure
Process flow | Firstly, the plant operator must obtain the status of eligible producer according to the regulations for obtaining the status of eligible producer which shall be developed and published by ANRE. Once the status of eligible producer is granted, the feed-in-tariff established for the respective year will be applied on the plant operator. |
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Competent authority | The Moldavian National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) is in charge of approving the feed-in tariffs calculated by the plant operator based on the methodology defined by ANRE. |
Degression
The feed-in tariffs are annually adjusted in order to account for the variable exchange rate between the Moldavian currency and US dollar (Item 13 of the Methodology approved by the Decision No. 375/2017).
Eligibility period
Renewable energy plants are eligible to sell the whole amount of produced electricity for a fixed feed-in tariff for a period of 15 years (art. 37 par. 1 Law No. 10/2016)
Distribution of costs
| Consumers | According to the Moldavian National Energy Regulatory Authority, the costs of the feed-in tariff are borne by the consumers through the electricity price. |
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| Distribution mechanism |
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