Eight licenses for alternative energy in 2006 Romania

Romania’s power market regulator, National Authority for Energy Settlement (ANRE), issued last year eight licenses allowing electricity production from renewable sources, according to an ANRE report on 2006.

ANRE granted 52 licenses for the production, distribution and supplying of electricity in 2006. Some 12 licenses were granted for the production of electricity, out of which four were given for the production of electricity coming from fossil fuels. The rest were given for the production of electricity coming from renewable sources.

Last year, ANRE granted 11 licenses for the production of electricity, out of which six were granted for the production of electricity from renewable sources. The government, in June, changed rules for issuing energy licenses and increased five-fold the minimum amount an applicant needs to have, to 500,000 euros.

The new law approved by the government contributes to the strengthening of the business environment by raising standards regarding the viability of economic operators that can receive licenses to deliver electricity in order to protect potential clients. The law was modified so that new applicants receive similar treatment as current ones.

Renewable energy in Romania: 24.8m lei for 3 projects

Romania's Environment Fund Administration (AFM) decided to grant for the first time 24.8 million lei for three projects regarding renewable energy and is now waiting for the approval of the European Commission, AFM president, Mihai Toti said.

AFM will finance a biomass project with 4.6 million lei, a project for producing electricity with 18.4 million lei and a micro-water plant project with 1.8 million lei. The projects have been approved by the Competition Council and will also be sent to Brussels for further approval.

AFM has also approved three projects for planting trees. The projects eye areas with problems such as Tulcea county, near the Black Sea and Timis county, in western Romania. These projects will receive 263,000 lei, 445,000 lei and 272,000 lei.

Environment Minister Attila Korodi, said at the beginning of August that one of the measures to encourage usage of the renewable energy potential would be to open a financing line for individuals.

Biogas - Biodiesel Synergy in North Western Romania

Biogas Nord AG, Bielefeld has been commissioned to construct a larger biogas plant featuring 2.8 MW of electrical power.

The value of the order is approximately €3.5 million. The ordered biogas plant will be built in the Transylvanian region close to the county town of Oradea. “This order proves that we are successfully proceeding with the internationalization of Biogas Nord AG and that the trend towards larger biogas facilities is continuing”, explains, for Budapest Business Journal, the board director Dr. Holger Schmitz.

Through the operation of this biogas plant, the client would like to make use of synergy effects resulting from the construction of a biodiesel plant, which is also being planned. In so doing, the waste products resulting from the production of biodiesel, such as rapeseed pellets and glycerin, will be brought to the biogas plant as substrates. The warmth produced in addition to the generation of electricity at the biogas plant will then be used for the biodiesel plant.

The plant will also be flexibly designed so that corn silage and porcine liquid manure coming from agricultural operations from the surrounding area can be brought in. The plant consisting of three digesters, two second digesters and three storage containers will allow Biogas Nord to be a reference object for more than just the Romanian market.

“As a result of their site located in the region bordering Hungary, the interest of Hungarian investors will also be spurned”, declares Rainer Thiel, the person responsible for Eastern European marketing at Biogas Nord. “We're currently conducting intensive negotiations with potential customers in both countries.”

EU requires WEEE collection of 4kg per capita

The European Union required Romania to collect four kilograms of electrical waste and electronic equipment (WEEE) per capita by the end of next year, in line with the Union’s legislation.

EU countries are collecting on average six kilograms WEEE per capita this year and Romania’s target is set at three kilograms per capita for 2007. Producers and dealers of electronic equipment have to finance WEEE recycling, according to European legislation.

However, in Romania there are only 215 WEEE collection centers and only 145 are functional. Romania’s Recycling Association announced it will start collect WEEE from July 1, marking the first action of its kind in the country.

Romania needs to invest 3.8 billion euros in waste management, according to the environment minister. Moreover, the country has committed itself to gradually reduce the amount of wastage products by 2016 while by 2013 it needs to reach the global recycling target set at 55 percent.

Governmental Decision on the management of tyres proposed

On 18 July 2007 the Administration of Funds for Environment (Administratia Fondului pentru Mediu) drafted for the Romanian Government (Guvernul Romaniei) a project of Decision (Hotarare) that aims at regulating the management of tyres, under conditions that protect health and the environment. The draft provides that natural or legal persons may only place on the market new or remoulded tyres that are approved in accordance with the legislation in force. The provisions of the present decision do not apply to tyres intended for the initial equipping of vehicles within the field of application of Government Order no. 2406/2004 on end-of-use vehicles, with its subsequent amendments.

The project of Governmental Decision on management of tyres was drafted on 18 July 2007 and shall be adopted within a 90 day term. The draft is compliant with EU regulations and is providing that natural or legal persons introducing used tyres into Romanian territory are obliged use them in accordance with the criteria laid down in the notification document provided for in Council Regulation (EEC) no. 259/93 on the supervision and control of shipments of waste within, into and out of the European Community.
Natural or legal persons placing on the market new tyres, and natural or legal persons placing on the market remoulded tyres or used tyres intended for reuse or remoulding originating from outside of Romanian territory, are obliged to collect the used tyres, 80% of the quantity that they placed on the market during the previous year and ensure (Art. 5):
- reuse in accordance with the technical and operational safety conditions;
- remoulding in accordance with the conditions necessary for remoulding;
- recycling for operations to reinforce roads, dams, security barriers for roads, motorways, jetties, silos; or
- recovery.
The aforementioned obligations may be carried out through a transfer of responsibilities to a natural or legal person authorised by the Directorate for the Recycling of Materials within the Ministry of Economic and Financial Affairs (Departamentul pentru Reciclarea Materialelor din cadrul Ministerului Economiei si Finantelor). This person must:
- sort and store the used tyres collected separately in two categories: used tyres intended for reuse or remoulding and discarded used tyres.
- hand over the used tyres intended for reuse or remoulding to natural or legal persons who market used tyres intended for reuse or natural or legal persons who carry out remoulding;
- hand over discarded used tyres to natural or legal persons who carry out recovery activities under contract.
Natural or legal persons who carry out one or more of the activities of collection, remoulding and/or recovery of used tyres shall be obliged:
- to keep documented evidence on the quantity of used tyres collected, remoulded or recovered, where relevant;
- to retain the evidence stipulated above for a period of 3 years.
The objects of the legal proposal are:
- Tyres for motor vehicles with two or three wheels or similar (mopeds, motorcycles, motortrikes, quadbikes)
- Tyres for motor cars and other motor vehicles of a total maximum authorised weight of up to 3.5 tonnes, and for trailers.
- Tyres for motor vehicles of a total maximum authorised weight of over 3.5 tonnes, and for trailers and semi-trailers.
- Tyres for tractors, self-propelled works machines, agricultural machines and mobile non-road machines.
- Tyres for machines and equipment for construction and mining.

Impact

The company must be aware that obligations related to management of tyres differ function of the legal person’s use of tyres. Thus, businesses that market, following their placing on the market, new tyres, remoulded tyres and/or used tyres intended for reuse to end consumers, must obtain from the end consumer used tyres in the quantity in which they have been marketed and ensure adequate storage capacity for used tyres until the time of delivery. Legal persons placing on the market new tyres, remoulded tyres and/or used tyres intended for reuse or remoulding are obliged to report the following information to the Directorate for the Recycling of Materials within the Ministry of Economic and Financial Affairs by 15 March of each year, for the previous calendar year:
- the quantity of tyres placed on the market;
- the quantity of used tyres collected and handed over for reuse, recycling, remoulding or recovery, during the previous year.

Decision regarding arsenic and PFOS' marketing restrictions on public debate

Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (Ministerul Mediului si Dezvoltarii Durabile) opened a public debate in order to modify Annex 1 of the Government’s Decision (Hotararea Guvernului) no. 347/2003 regarding use and marketing restrictions for certain dangerous substances and chemical preparations. Proposals, suggestions and opinions regarding the modifications can be transmitted until 30 August 2007. The proposal is aiming at harmonizing national legislation with EU regulations regarding marketing restrictions of perfluorooctane sulfonates and, mainly, restrictions on the marketing and use of arsenic compounds.


The proposal of modification of Annex 1 of the Government’s Decision (Hotararea Guvernului) no. 347/2003 regarding use and marketing restrictions for certain dangerous substances and chemical preparations implements Directive 2006/122/EC amending for the 30th time Council Directive 76/769/EEC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and preparations (perfluorooctane sulfonates) and Directive 2006/139/EC amending Council Directive 76/769/EEC as regards restrictions on the marketing and use of arsenic compounds for the purpose of adapting its Annex I to technical progress.

1.Arsenic

Arsenic Compounds will not be placed on the market or used as substances and constituents of preparations intended for use to prevent the fouling by micro-organisms, plants or animals of:
- the hulls of boats,
- cages, floats, nets and any other appliances or equipment used for fish or shellfish farming,
- any totally or partly submerged appliances or equipment;
Moreover, arsenic will not be placed on the market or used as substances and constituents of preparations intended for use in the treatment of industrial waters, irrespective of their use. The compounds will not be used in the preservation of wood and, furthermore, wood so treated must not be placed
on the market.
By way of derogation, relating to the substances and preparations for the preservation of wood, the compounds may only be used in industrial installations using vacuum or pressure to impregnate wood if they are solutions of inorganic compounds of the copper, chromium, arsenic (CCA) type C and if
they are authorized according to EU regulations. Wood treated with CCA solutions in industrial installations may be placed on the market for professional and industrial use provided that the structural integrity of the wood is required for human or animal livestock safety and skin contact by the general public
during its service life is unlikely:
- as structural timber in public and agricultural buildings, office buildings, and industrial
premises,
- in bridges and bridgework,
- as constructional timber in freshwater areas and brackish waters e.g. jetties and bridges,
- as noise barriers,
- in avalanche control,
- in highway safety fencing and barriers,
- as debarked round conifer livestock fence posts,
- in earth retaining structures,
- as electric power transmission and telecommunications poles,
- as underground railway sleepers.

Without prejudice to the application of other Community and National provisions on the classification, packaging and labeling of dangerous substances and preparations, all treated wood placed on the market shall be individually labelled “For professional and industrial installation and use only. It contains arsenic”.

Treated wood previously referred to will not be used:
- in residential or domestic constructions, whatever the purpose,
- in any application where there is a risk of repeated skin contact,
- in marine waters,
- for agricultural purposes other than for livestock fence posts and structural uses,
- in any application where the treated wood may come into contact with intermediate or
finished products intended for human or animal consumption.

Wood treated with arsenic compounds or with CCA that was in use in the Community before 30 September 2007, or that was placed on the market in accordance with the rules of the modified Government’s Decision may remain in place and continue to be used until it reaches the end of its service life.

2.Perfluorooctane sulfonates

Perfluorooctane sulfonates (PFOS), reads Directive 2006/122/EC, are persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic to mammalian species and, therefore, indicate cause for concern.

The Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks, after a consultation, concluded that PFOS fulfill the criteria for classification as very persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic. PFOS also have a potential for long range environmental transport and have the potential to produce adverse effects and therefore fulfill the criteria for being considered as persistent organic pollutants under the Stockholm Convention.

The European Commission mentioned in its Directive 2006/122/EC that on-going critical uses of PFOS in the aviation industry, the semiconductor industry and the photographic industry, which appear to pose a risk to the environment or human health, if releases into the environment and workplace exposure are not minimized. With regard to fire-fighting foams, EC agrees that health and environmental risks of substitutes should be assessed before a final decision can be taken. EC also agrees with restricting the use of PFOS in the metal plating industry.

Thus, in order to protect health and the environment, it is therefore necessary that the placing on the market and the use of PFOS should be restricted. The Directive and subsequent national regulations are intended to cover the major part of the exposure risks. Other minor uses of PFOS do not seem to pose a risk and they are currently exempted.

Environment Minister Korodi targets 26sqm of green space per capita

Romania's Environment Minister Attila Korodi will table a bill that would stipulate 26 square meters of green space per capita to reach the European average.


Korodi called for action on this front citing Bucharest where the green areas stand at less than ten square meters per capita. There will be negotiations with each city to find solutions as there are cases where spaces for parks have been overrun by construction works.

The government approved in June to allot 25 million lei from the environment fund to finance projects regarding green spaces this year.

Korodi is attending on Thursday and Friday the Peninsula festival in Targu Mures, central Romania, where he is trying to rise environmental awareness among young people through the Green Peninsula program.

Safety and environmental protection - big issues for Romanian SMEs

Labor costs is the main problem for Romanian small and medium sized companies in adapting to the European Union acquis after joining the block, a study of the National Council for SMEs shows.


According to the study “100 days in Europe”, the technical regulations and standards regarding products is a problem for 31 percent of the participant companies. Some 24.11 percent of the companies have difficulties with competition rules, 23.6 percent with safety regulations, 21.9 percent with quality and safety of products, 21.73 with customer protection, 16.64 percent with environmental protection and 51.18 percent with intellectual property issues.

The study also shows that in 47 percent of the companies the acquis implementation process is ongoing while it has not started in more than 40 percent. Only 5.34 percent of the companies have succeeded in implementing the EU acquis.

Tourism companies encountered the most problems in adapting acquis regulations.

The study was conducted on a sample of 1,178 Romanian SMEs in April.

Romania to receive 270 million euros for environmental projects in 2007

Romanian Environment Minister Attila Korodi announced he will contract 270 million euros through the Sectoral Operational Program (SOP) to use by 2010 on waste management and water quality projects.


Some 15 such projects will be financed of which ten are part of a priority program to build 90 water filtering units that will soak up 60 percent of the total 29.3 billion euros in SOP funds.

Ten of the water management projects will be sent to the European Commission for approval by the end of July and another 15 projects regarding waste management will be sent by September, as under EU regulations any program exceeding 25 million euros requires approval.

Next year the ministry plans to send another 25 projects for approval. Some 15 projects within the priority axis are worth 1.5 bilion euros while the other ten total 500 million euros. Other 12 projects regarding water management are being prepared with help from the World Bank.

Under the SOP for Environment Infrastructure, 4.5 billion euros are available for Romania during 2007-2013 plus state and local budget co-financing of 1 billion euros. European finance come from the European Fund for Regional Development and the Cohesion Fund.