Romanian Association for Biomass and Biogas (Arbio) put a proposition for the sector to be financed not by consumers but from an environmental fund with contributions from companies which use polluting technologies. Draft legislation was submitted to the Romanian parliament on March 15 to amend law 220/2008 and introduce the scheme when the system of support through green certificates comes to an end, portal Energynomics.ro reported.
Arbio said a ceiling of 300 MW in biomass segment should be placed for such support, based on ’first come, first served’ principle. The proposition includes 125 MW for energy produced from waste and a bank guarantee for 10% of the project for all applicants. The association’s president Ilias Papageorgiadis said the initiative is for two tariff schemes, according to technology and size. The highest ones would be for producers of heat from waste, with special incentives for projects of thermal energy for consumers in the manufacturing sector. An internal rate of return (IRR) between 8.5% and 11.7% would be appropriate, according to Papageorgiadis, with higher subsidies for high efficiency cogeneration, burning waste and energy crops.
By 2020, landfills should receive only 50% of collected waste or fines can reach EUR 180 million per year for Romania. Eurostat’s data as of 2014 show all markets followed by Balkan Green Energy News underperform overall European waste management achievements, except Slovenia, which is above average in recycling. Romania is reported to compost and incinerate 11% and 2%, respectively, while it recycles only 5%, leaving 82% in landfills. The country had 254 kilogrammes per capita generated, the least in Europe, from which 214 kilogrammes of municipal waste was treated.
