News
New Aid Decree III on energy communities and RES extra-profits
The new Aid Decree III, adopted on 23 September, introduces new measures to help enterprises and citizens tackle rising energy costs and implement the investments on environment and renewable energies foreseen by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan ("NRRP").
The decree introduces measures aimed at favoring the implementation of renewable energy source (RES) power plants on state-owned properties in use by the Ministry of Interior, with the possibility of setting up renewable energy communities.
With reference to the allocation of the profits generated from the compensation mechanism on the price of electricity produced from RES plants, the decree states that such profits will be paid by the energy service manager (GSE) to the state budget.
Part of the sum thus paid will remain within the Treasury, whereas the remaining sum will be allocated to the possible reshaping of tax credit and to cope with the increases in the cost of energy and gas.
For more information, the text of the decree is available at the following link.
Marche region issues negative opinion on agrovoltaic plant due to alteration of perceived landscape
The Marche region recently expressed its denial to the implementation of a 28 megawatt agrovoltaic plant.
According to the regional office for environmental impact assessment, since the plant would be located in an area with a strong vocation for quality agriculture, its realization would entail a significant distortion of said vocation, with repercussions that could not be ruled out, including from an economic perspective.
The regional note then concluded that the plant would determine a "strong alteration of the perceived landscape" by causing fragmentation of the territory and disruption of ecological connectivity, with effective removal of natural habitats and subsequent risks to agricultural activities and the health of the population.
In any case, the regional opinion is not binding, since the final decision will be taken by the Council Presidency.
For more information, the regional note is available at the following link.
Green systems: rules for installation bonus finalized
The Italian Revenue Agency recently published the new terms and modalities to benefit from the tax credit granted for the costs of installing energy storage systems connected to RES power plants.
The benefit will be granted to individuals who sustain documented expenses for the installation of the above-mentioned energy storage systems (even if the RES plant already existed) and to beneficiaries of the incentives for on-site exchange.
The bonus can be used as a reduction of taxes due in the tax return related to the 2022 tax year, while any unused amount can be used in the subsequent years.
The Revenue Agency will disclose the percentage of the tax credit due to each individual on the basis of the ratio between the amount of the allocated resources (EUR 3 million) and the total amount of eligible expenses indicated in the applications.
For more information, the measure adopted by the Revenue Agency is available here.
New Biomethane Decree sets out new incentives for biomethane in accordance with the NRRP
The Italian Ministry for Ecological Transition (MITE) has enacted the New Biomethane Decree, setting out a new public incentive scheme for the production of sustainable biomethane to be used in the transport and end-use sectors, for an overall amount of about EUR 1.7 billion.
The decree aims at promoting the production of biomethane in compliance with the sustainability requirements set out by Directive 2018/2001/EU ("RED-II") by granting (i) a capital contribution amounting to 40% of the eligible expenditure and (ii) a specific additional incentive tariff.
The non-repayable contributions will be granted through public competitive procedures, according to criteria defined by the decree. In particular, the new incentives will be granted to:
- Newly built plants fed by organic waste and agricultural matrices
- Plants generating power from agricultural biogas affected by an intervention of revamping
The decree also details more specific requirements, as well as causes for exclusion. The act entered into force on 27 October 2022. Only one auction will be held in 2022, while there will be at least two procedures per year from 2023 onward.
For more information, the text of the decree is available at the following link.
The Italian Antitrust Authority initiates four proceedings against energy suppliers for changes to gas-light contracts
The Italian Antitrust Authority has issued a note informing four suppliers that investigation proceedings have been initiated against them due to alleged attempts to unilaterally change electricity and gas prices on the free market.
The Authority is assessing whether the proposals to increase the supply prices are in conflict with the provisions of Aid Decree bis, which suspends the effectiveness of the contractual clauses enabling suppliers to unilaterally change prices until 30 April 2023.
Furthermore, the Authority also contests the misleading nature of the communications made by the suppliers, according to which it would be impossible to supply electricity at the contractually agreed price due to gas price increases, which would be "in express and serious contradiction" with promotional messages stating that the electricity sold would come exclusively from renewable sources.
After hearing the companies, the Authority will assess whether there are grounds for precautionary measures.
For more information, the Authority's notice is available at the following link.
Italy plans to implement the first European sustainable highway
The first European sustainable highway is being built in Italy: A new project by Astm, operator of the A4 highway connecting Milan and Turin, envisages that the motorway will be repaved with recycled plastic and asphalt.
The project aims at reducing energy consumption by over 90 million kilowatt-hours as well as CO2 emissions by 18.350 tonnes.
The technology for the project was developed by Italian company Iterchimica, in collaboration with the University of Milano-Bicocca. Besides the sustainable aspects, it is expected that the new technology will enhance the strength and durability of the flooring.
The project is part of the Smart Road plan developed by Astm,
which also intends to increase the number of electric charging
stations and hydrogen distributors on highways, with the aim of
achieving greener roads.
Case Law
Apulia Regional Administrative Court specifies distinction between agrovoltaic and photovoltaic plants
The Apulia Regional Administrative Court (TAR) overruled the region and province's refusal to issue a single regional authorization measure ("PAUR") for several agrovoltaics projects.
After remarking that a general and unconditional right to the implementation of RES plants, as well as a general prohibition on such implementation, cannot be established, the Court focused on the distinction between photovoltaic and agrovoltaic plants.
In particular, according to the TAR, the region and province's denial did not accurately take into account the substantial differences between the two energy sources when assessing the aspects related to the protection of the landscape and the use of agricultural lands.
While agrovoltaic plants allow both agricultural activities and energy production to take place on the same land, photovoltaic plants make the soil impermeable, effectively preventing any agricultural activity from taking place.
Such a distinction should be taken into consideration by the relevant authorities in the authorization process, and this would be further confirmed by the NRRP, which dedicates specific investments and incentives for agrovoltaic plants, separated from those allocated to photovoltaic plants
Milan Regional Administrative Court rules on mandatory nature of minimum environmental criteria
The Milan TAR recently settled a dispute concerning a call for tenders issued by the municipality of Giussano for the heat management service at municipal buildings.
In particular, the Court ruled for the annulment of the call for tenders and all its preliminary acts, on the basis that contracting stations would be obliged to include minimum environmental criteria (MEC) clauses in the contract concluded with the successful bidder.
The criteria entail the environmental requirements defined for the various phases of the purchasing process, aimed at identifying the design solution, product and service that can ensure the best performance from an environmental point of view.
Echoing some past decisions, the Court established how MEC must be assumed as a mandatory obligation for contracting stations. Therefore, if the municipality of Giussano had wanted to call for tenders for the heating management system, it would have had to be in possession of an energy diagnosis beforehand, as required by the relevant MEC. The absence of the latter determined the annulment of the call for tenders.
For more information, the text of the ruling is available at the
following link.
EU
EU warns against risk of price cap on gas
The European Commission recently drafted a paper warning member states about the risks entailed in an EU-wide cap on the price of gas, which could cause an increase in gas use and exports of EU-subsidized electricity.
The document was published in the midst of the discussion on options to cap EU gas prices, on which countries are still split over whether and how to do it.
The Commission based the research on the scheme that Spain and Portugal launched this summer, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent cuts to the gas supplies toward Europe, to enact a similar measure.
According to the Commission, an EU-wide price cap would trigger a rise in gas demand by up to 9 billion cubic meters and would require specific measures to prevent cheaper energy from being exported to non-EU countries, like Britain and Switzerland, that do not have any price cap.
The discussion is, however, still in progress, and the European Union energy ministers will hold another meeting this November to try and make further progress on the topic.
EU Commission proposes new measures to tackle energy crisis
The European Commission is proposing a new emergency regulation to address the rise in gas prices and ensure supplies for the incoming winter.
In order to achieve its objective, the regulation provides the following measures:
- Aggregation of the European demand on gas and joint purchase procedure to better negotiate prices and reduce the risk of member states outbidding each other on the global market
- Price correction mechanism to establish a dynamic price limit for transactions on the Title Transfer Facility gas exchange, and a temporary collar or bandwidth to prevent extreme price spikes in derivative markets
- Default solidarity rules in case of supply shortages, extending the solidarity obligation to member states with liquefied natural gas facilities
- A specific mechanism for gas allocation aimed at sustaining member states affected by supply emergencies
These new steps will be added to those already in place, like the already agreed measures to reduce gas and electricity demand to ensure the stability of the European gas market during the winter and, possibly, beyond.
In the meantime, the Commission will continue to search further ways to limit the impacts of high energy and gas prices, starting from reviewing the State aid Temporary Crisis Framework and making proposals to enhance the EU financial firepower for REPowerEU.
For more information, a summary of the Commission press release is available at the following link.
EU moves to ban products related to forced labor
In September, the EU published a new proposal for a regulation aimed at prohibiting products that have been produced, extracted or harvested with forced labor from entering the European market or being exported from the EU and establishing the obligation for affected companies to dispose of such products.
The regulation would be enforced by specific national authorities, designated or created by the member states. It appears in strict connection with the recent proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive ("CS3D"), which would require companies to perform periodic due diligences on their value chains to identify and prevent or end adverse impacts on human rights or the environment deriving from the company's activity.
The proposal for the regulation on forced labor is currently available for public feedback until 30 November, after which the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament will debate the proposal and try to reach an agreement. If everything proceeds as planned, the regulation would come into force 24 months after its adoption.
More information is available at the following link.
European Central Bank and its decarbonization strategy: first details published
The European Central Bank (ECB) recently published additional details on how it intends to gradually decarbonize its holdings of corporate bonds, following the decision of its Governing Council to further incorporate climate change considerations into its policy framework, adopted on July 2022.
As part of its new policy, the ECB has begun to tilt the Eurosystem's corporate bond purchases toward issuers with a better climate performance.
An issuer's climate score will be determined according to three sub-scores:
- The issuer's past emissions compared with their peers in a specific sector, as well as compared with all eligible bond issuers
- The issuer's objective on future GHG reduction
- The quality of the issuer's reporting on GHG emissions
The Eurosystem will take the climate score into account in all bond purchases — whether under the corporate sector purchase program or the pandemic emergency purchase program — settled as of 1 October 2022, and the ECB will start publishing climate-related information on its corporate bond holdings from the first quarter of 2023.
For more information, the ECB press release is available at the following link.
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