NORWAY Trends and Developments Contributed by: Jøran Sandvik, Ida Mattsson Sperre and Aksel Tannum, Advokatfirmaet Haavind AS
capacity volume for the project or prioritise the applicants/projects in a capacity queue based on the maturity level of each project. To maintain reservations and their position in the capacity queue, grid customers must continu- ously document evidence of sufficient progress. Grid companies are required to solicit such doc- umentation on a regular basis, and to continu- ously reassess project maturity. Should a grid company determine a material change or devia- tion in respect of meeting the maturity criteria, attributable to factors within the grid customer’s risk sphere, the company is required and entitled to withdraw their reservation or position in the capacity queue. The amendments concerning maturity assess- ments apply to projects that received a reser- vation or a position in the capacity queue prior to 1 January 2025. This necessitates that grid companies must request documentation on maturity without undue delay, followed by a six- month deadline for grid customers to provide documentation. If the customer fails to meet this requirement, or if the grid company concludes that the project is immature, the reservation or position in the capacity queue will lapse. Amendment to the Energy Act – more efficient licensing processes, etc Various amendments to the Energy Act were recently approved by Parliament. Here, the major objectives are to reduce the processing time for obtaining the licences necessary for grid development and to ensure sufficient progress in both the application process and project exe- cution. The amendments include the following, among others. • The establishment of a legal basis allow- ing the authorities to reject projects, namely
grid projects, at the notification stage of the licence process if the authority determines that an application is unlikely to be approved. • A provision setting a three-year deadline fol- lowing the establishment of an environmen- tal impact assessment (EIA) programme for applying for a licence. • Area licensees are now obligated to construct grid facilities for production plants that con- nect to grids up to 22 kV in size, provided the producer desires such construction. While this practice has been common among several area licensees, it was not previously mandatory. • The amendments establish a legal basis for the authorities to require a detailed plan for constructing and operating the grid. Moreo- ver, the adopted amendments include a deadline for constructing and commissioning once licences are granted. Extended threshold for submitting a notification to the NVE Further, the government has recently enacted an amendment to the Regulation on Environmental Impact Assessments ( KU-forskriften ) concern- ing the requirements for submitting a notifica- tion for power lines to the NVE. The amendment increases the length of power lines that do not require notifications from 15 km to 50 km, while maintaining the voltage threshold at 132 kV. Proposed amendments The MoE has initiated a hearing concerning proposed amendments to the NEM Regulation, which introduce an obligation for grid compa- nies to reserve/withhold capacity for withdrawal consumers within specified capacity thresh- olds; 1 MW in the regional grid and 5 MW (with expected annual consumption within 20 GWh) in the transmission grid. The proposal is intended to apply to all consumers within these limits.
232 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook