The Renewables Obligation (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2013

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Renewables Obligation Order (Northern Ireland) 2009 (“the 2009 Order”) and makes transitional provision.

The 2009 Order imposes an obligation (“the renewables obligation”) on all electricity suppliers which supply electricity in Northern Ireland. Suppliers must produce, by a specified day, a certain number of renewables obligation certificates (“NIROCs”) in respect of each megawatt hour of electricity that each supplies in Northern Ireland during a specified period known as an obligation period. The renewables obligation is administered by the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation (“the Authority”) who issue NIROCs to renewable electricity generators in respect of their renewable output.

Article 2 amends Article 2 of the 2009 Order to insert new definitions for different types of generating capacity, “advanced fuel”, “combustion unit” and “qualifying power output” and to amend the definitions of “energy crops”, “Renewables Directive” and “total installed capacity”. The definition of “regular biomass” is amended to exclude all “advanced fuels”.

Article 3 amends Article 4 of the 2009 Order to expand the definition of biomass to include all fossil derived bioliquids.

Article 4 amends Article 13 of the 2009 Order to remove a limit on the NIROCs issued for co-firing that suppliers can submit in each obligation period. It also inserts limits on the NIROCs issued for electricity generated using bioliquids that suppliers can submit in each obligation period. Consequential amendments are made by Article 24(4) to Article 31 of the 2009 Order and by Article 29 to Article 52 of the 2009 Order.

Article 5 makes a consequential amendment to Article 15 of the 2009 Order.

Article 6 amends Article 18A to extend the end date for the Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation from 2033 to 2037.

Articles 7(2) and 26(2) and (4) make consequential amendments to Articles 21(1) and 46 of the 2009 Order.

Article 7(4) amends Article 21(3) of the 2009 Order to add corrosion control and fouling reduction to the uses of fossil fuel or waste which are permitted ancillary purposes.

Article 8 amends Article 22 of the 2009 Order to prevent NIROCs from being issued in respect of electricity generated from landfill gas unless the electricity meets certain conditions.

Article 9 renumbers Article 22A of the 2009 Order to Article 21A.

Article 10 renumbers Article 22B of the 2009 Order to 21B.

Article 11 amends Article 23 of the 2009 Order to remove the minimum gross calorific value requirements applying to liquid fuels produced by means of pyrolysis. It also sets rules for how renewable output is to be apportioned between generating capacity accredited or installed during different obligation periods and where electricity is generated in different ways. Article 11(3) to (5) make consequential amendments to Article 24(2) to (4) of the 2009 Order.

Article 12(2) amends Article 24(1) of the 2009 Order to exclude all advanced fuels from the scope of that Article.

Article 13 amends Article 25 of the 2009 Order to change the provisions for determining the amount of electricity that must be generated by a generating station in order to be eligible for a NIROC depending on the way in which it has been generated (“bands”). Article 31 amends Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the 2009 Order to insert some new bands, to remove some existing bands and to amend the definitions of some existing bands. Article 32 substitutes Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the 2009 Order to set out the levels of support for the bands applying to generating capacity accredited, and additional capacity added, before 1st May 2013. Article 33 inserts a new Part 2A of Schedule 2 to the 2009 Order to set out the levels of support for the bands applying to generating capacity accredited, and additional capacity added on or after 1st May 2013. Consequential amendments are made by Article 20 to Article 28 of the 2009 Order, by Article 22 to Article 29 of the 2009 Order and by Article 24(2) and (3) to Article 31 of the 2009 Order.

Article 14 substitutes Article 26 of the 2009 Order to replace the provisions for determining the amount of electricity which is eligible for a higher level of support by virtue of being generated by a qualifying combined heat and power generating station, and for determining what that higher level of support should be. The new bands are set out in Parts 2C to 2E of Schedule 2 to the 2009 Order, as inserted by Article 33.

Article 15 inserts new Articles 26A to 26E into the 2009 Order. New Article 26A sets the level of support for electricity generated from high-range co-firing in the 2013/14 obligation period. New Articles 26B and 26C set the level of support for electricity generated from co-firing of regular bioliquid and from low-range co-firing in the 2013/14 and 2014/15 obligation periods. New Articles 26D and 26E set the level of support for low-range co-firing of energy crops supplied under contracts made before 23rd October 2012. Article 23 makes consequential amendments to Article 30 of the 2009 Order.

Articles 16 and 17 amend Article 27 of the 2009 Order to set the level of support for microgenerators.

Article 19 amends Article 27A of the 2009 Order to set the level of support for qualifying new onshore wind stations and qualifying new solar photovoltaic stations.

Article 20 amends Article 28 of the 2009 Order to set the level of support for generating stations which were accredited as at 11th July 2006.

Article 21 inserts a new Article 28A into the 2009 Order to set out the circumstances in which electricity generated by certain wave and tidal stream generating stations will be entitled to 5 NIROCs per megawatt hour.

Article 25 amends Article 34 of the 2009 Order to enable the Authority to treat a notification by the operator of a generating station as sufficient evidence that the energy content of the biomass burned in a combustion unit makes up less than 50% of the energy content of all of the energy sources burned in that unit.

Article 27 amends Article 46A of the 2009 Order to implement, in relation to the renewables obligation, Commission Decision 2011/13/EU on certain types of information about biofuels and bioliquids to be submitted by economic operators to Member States(1). Article 27(3) makes a consequential amendment to Article 46 of the 2009 Order.

Article 28 inserts a new Article 50A into the 2009 Order. Article 50A enables generating stations to submit a request to the Authority to be registered as grace period generating station, and so obtain the levels of support available to generating stations accredited on 30th April 2013. Requests may be submitted only in respect of stations first commissioned on or after 1st May 2013 and in respect of which an application for accreditation is made on or before 30th September 2013. The request must be accompanied by various documents, including a declaration that the station would have been commissioned on or before 30th April 2013 if the grid connection or certain radar works had been completed by the date specified in the agreement for the grid connection or the radar works.

Article 34 makes transitional provision in respect of the obligation period ending on 31st March 2013.

A explanatory memorandum is available alongside the Order on www.legislation.gov.uk.